PNP News Releases 2005

PNP CALABARZON SPEARHEADS RESCUE OPERATIONS ON ILL-FATED TRAIN

PNP Officer-in-Charge, Deputy Director General Virtus V Gil has ordered the Police Regional Office in the CALABARZON Region to mobilize all available resources to rescue more possible survivors who are believed still trapped in the wreckage of a derailed train in Padre Burgos, Quezon.

Gil instructed Chief Superintendent Reynaldo P Varilla, PNP-CALABARZON Regional Director to convene the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council for an organized rescue and retrieval operation.

As of press time, at least 10 persons have been reported killed and more than 100 others were injured when four coaches of a Manila-bound train from Bicol slipped its tracks and plunged into a ravine. Reportedly on board were more than 300 passengers.

Quezon PNP Director, Senior Superintendent Leo Kison reported that police, fire, and volunteer rescue personnel from other towns of Quezon province have joined the operations.

Military units form the AFP Southern Luzon Command are also in the scene.

The bodies of ten fatalities are still being identified by Crime Laboratory personnel, Kison said, while the injured had been evacuated to nearby hospitals.

Kison said the rough terrain in the crash site is hampering efforts for a speedy rescue because heavy equipment cannot reach the area.