2017 Tanay bus accident
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8:45 am (PST)
| 2017 Tanay bus accident | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Location in Luzon .svg) Location in the Philippines | |
| Details | |
| Date | February 20, 2017 8:45 am (PST) |
| Location | Tanay, Rizal |
| Coordinates | 14°29′50″N 121°17′11″E / 14.49722°N 121.28639°E |
| Country | Philippines |
| Operator | Panda Coach Tours and Transport Inc. |
| Cause | Brakes failed |
| Statistics | |
| Passengers | 50[1] |
| Deaths | 15 (14 passengers + driver) |
| Injured | At least 40 |
On February 20, 2017, a tourist bus carrying 50 passengers, mostly students on a field trip from Bestlink College of the Philippines in Quezon City, lost its brakes and crashed into an electricity pole in Tanay, Rizal, killing 15 passengers including the driver.
The accident uncovered lax regulations on safety of students on educational trips in the Philippines and prompted the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Education to issue moratoriums on field trips for the 2016–17 school year.[2] After the moratorium, stricter guidelines on off-campus activities were imposed.
A tourist bus operated by Panda Coach Tours and Transport Inc. was transporting 50 college students from Bestlink College of the Philippines to a camping site in a resort in Rizal as part of their National Service Training Program.[1] According to Erwin Gascon of the Tanay police station, the bus was travelling to Sitio Bayucan in Barangay Sampaloc in Tanay, Rizal when it lost its brakes and hit an electricity pole around 8:45 am, killing 15 passengers (13 students and a teacher) and the driver, Julian Lacorda Jr.[3] in the process, and injuring about 40 others. One passenger later died in a hospital a day after the accident.[1][4] The town government said that the bus driver deliberately hit the post as the braking method,[1] causing a large portion of the bus to tear off and the pole to topple onto the bus.[5][6] Moments before the accident, passengers allegedly noticed the smell of burning rubber.[7] However, the bus driver apparently ignored them.[8]
In an interview with DZMM-AM, the bus representative, Johna Martires, said the company had already issued their insurance firm to take care of the needs of the victims.[4]