By Zaldy Comanda
BONTOC, Mt. Province — Three people died on the spot, while two others are missing, after their elf truck fell into the Chico River, Barangay Tocucan, Bontoc, Mt. Province, early morning on October 27.
According to the Bontoc Operations Center, the elf truck carrying five workers from Balintaugan Construction was heading to a project site in Kuro-Kuro, Sadanga, Mt.Province where the construction site project was located.
However, the vehicle they were riding bumped into two vehicles that were parked along the road, resulting in a Vehicular Traffic Accident.
The Elf truck fell into a ravine and plunged into the deep waters of the Chico River in Sitio Gawa, Barangay Tocucan, Bontoc, Mt. Province.
During the search and rescue, three people were first found in the area, who were declared dead on the spot by Municipal Health Officer Dr. Diga Gomez.
The victims identified as Rogelio dela Cruz,of Pangasinan; Jessie Galicia of Pangasinan and Zoren Jay Tala driver,of Zamboanga.
The missing companion are Carlo Ancheta and Edmund Romeo, both from Pangasinan.
Personnel of Bureau of Fire Protecton-Bontoc and other agencies are now conducting search,rescue and retrival operation to ensure the prompt and safe recovery of the remaining victims.
As of 1:00 P. M. (Oct. 27, 2025), Search, Rescue, and Retrieval (SRR) Teams composed of trained personnel from the Provincial DRRM Office of Mountain Province, Municipal DRRM Offices of Bontoc and Sadanga, the Bureau of Fire Protection- Mountain Province, Phillippine National Police, Barangay Officias of Tocucan, Bontoc, and CAFGO have not yet found the two remaining victims at the immediate crash site of the vehicle that fell into the Chico River at Gawa, Tocucan, Bontoc earlier this morning.
According to the SRR Teams, they will continue the search downstream just as soon as they develop a more suitable strategy. The present situation is that the access route leading from the road down to the crash site takes at least 30 minutes to reach. This challenge, combined with the strong river current, is being factored into the formulation of their operational plan. Coordination was also made with the Provincial DRRM Office of Kalinga and Municipal DRRM Office of Tinglayan, Kalinga for assistance just in case the bodies were already carried away by the strong current after falling into the river.
