(Picture: CDN Digital) Philippine police say at least 9 mostly grade school students died and 16 others were injured when the truck they were riding on lost control on a downhill road, flipped on its side and pinned some of the victims.
The lorry was carrying children to a cultural, health and sports festival (Picture: CDN Digital)

Several people are dead and more have been injured after a truck they were on crashed en route to a festival in the Philippines.

Nine children were killed and 16 others were injured when the vehicle lost control on a downhill road and flipped on its side.

Some were thrown clear of the wreckage but others were crushed to death when they became pinned underneath.

The driver was among those injured in the accident in the town of Boljoon in the central Cebu province.

Police investigator Nelson Saquibal said they were from two village schools who were on their way to a cultural, health and sports festival in the town centre.

NEWS COPY - WITH PICTURES?? Eleven people have been killed and 16 injured after a truck illegally carrying children to school plunged down a steep hillside this morning. The construction vehicle was filled with young pupils, parents and teachers travelling to two remote mountain schools in Cebu, southern Philippines. But the driver,??Danilo Niere,??lost control of the vehicle while driving down a steep slope and plunged over the edge of a cliff.?? Officials confirmed that seven children were among those killed and two adults. Reescue workers said that 11 people had been confirmed dead and several more had been injured after the crash in the town of?? Boljoon . Travelling with people in the dumpster part of trucks owned by the government has been banned in the country.
Another 16 chidlren were injured in the crash in the central Cebu province (Picture: Viral Press)
NEWS COPY - WITH PICTURES?? Nine people have been killed and 16 injured after a truck illegally carrying children to school plunged down a steep hillside this morning. The construction vehicle was filled with young pupils, parents and teachers travelling to two remote mountain schools in Cebu, southern Philippines. But the driver,??Danilo Niere,??lost control of the mini dumpster truck while driving down a steep slope and plunged over the edge of a cliff.?? Officials confirmed that seven children were among those killed and two adults. Reescue workers said that nine people had been confirmed dead and 16 more had been injured after the crash in the town of??Boljoon . Travelling with people in the dumpster part of trucks owned by the government is banned in the country.?? Ruben Niere, the town???s information officer, said the children were due to attend sports days at the??Nangka Elementary School and San Antonio Elementary schools.
Some were thrown clear of the wreckage but others were crushed to death under the truck (Picture: Viral Press)

He said that locals ran to the aid of the victims of the crash and they helped police and firefighters to pull the victims from under the wreckage.

Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines because of weak enforcement of traffic laws, rickety vehicles and inadequate road safety railings and signs especially in the countryside.

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