ATOK, Benguet — Fifty-seven people cheated death when the Baguio-bound passenger bus they were riding in fell into a 30-feet ravine on Halsema Highway here Wednesday afternoon.

Chief Superintendent Orlando Pestano, regional director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), said it was fortunate the 57 passengers sustained only minor to enable them to join their relatives in the New Year’s Eve revelry.

Most of the passengers said they came from Mountain Province and some parts of Northern Benguet to join their relatives in Baguio and the capital town of La Trinidad in celebrating the New Year when the incident occurred.

Initial police investigation showed the Jack’s Transport bus bearing license plate AVA 611 and body number 1008 was negotiating the descending and winding road from Bontoc, Mountain Province when its brake system encountered mechanical trouble.

Michael Mang-awan, the bus driver, maneuvered the vehicle and slammed it into the mountain side to lessen its speed, but it skidded down the descending road and fell into the ravine, its rear landing first.

Police said 15 of the injured were immediately discharged from the Benguet General Hospital (BeGH) while the rest were recommended for confinement.

The bus company assured the victims it will extend appropriate assistance to them, especially payment of their accumulated hospital bills.

The portion of the Halsema Highway where the bus fell – Kilometer 24 in Calicing – is an accident-prone section because of its descending and ascending features. (With a report from Rizaldy Comanda)