Antipas highway collision

On March 25, 2024, in Antipas, Cotabato, Philippines, a highway collision between a dump truck transporting sand and a passenger van occurred. There were seventeen fatalities and one non-fatal injury the passenger van, while all passengers in the truck survived.^[1]

Antipas highway collision

Location of the collision
Date	March 25, 2024 (2024-03-25)
Time	12:48 p.m. PST
Location	Antipas, Cotabato, Philippines
Deaths	17
Non-fatal injuries	4

Accident

The accident took place around noon at the national highway in Barangay Lohong in the municipality of Antipas.^[2] A Toyota Hiace commuter van heading for Kidapawan was hit by a dump truck carrying gravel that was heading for the Antipas town proper while going downhill^[3][4] at high speed. The passenger van flipped, rolled over and plunged into the ditch along the highway and caught fire. The truck capsized and also caught fire around six meters away from the van.^[5]

Of the 18 passengers on the van, only one person survived and was rushed to hospital. The three people aboard the truck were also hospitalized.^[6]

Aftermath

Identifying the burned cadavers was difficult. As of March 26 at 4pm only seven cadavers were identified.^[2]

The local government unit expressed their condolences and sadness, and called to offer prayers for the victims; it also stated it worked on providing the necessary assistance and support for the involved families.^[2] The government released a total of P25,000 in aid to the families of the victims.^[7]

The Antipas Municipal Police Station and the Antipas Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office investigated the accident.^[2] On March 27, authorities identified 17 people dead and 4 survivors in the collision.^[7]