THE bodies of the seven Filipino immigrants, who died in a road accident in Alegria town, southwest Cebu, were brought to the St. Peter’s Memorial Chapel in Barangay Imus, Cebu City on Saturday evening.
“All seven are here,” said an employee of the funeral parlor, who requested anonymity.
She said that they were still waiting for further instructions from the families of the casualties, although there would be a possibility that the bodies would be flown either to Manila or the United States.
“For now, we can’t disclose their names,” she said.
Senior Insp. Efren Diaz, officer-in-charge of the Alegria Police Station, also refused to give the names of the casualties because they were still waiting for the families of the deceased and the injured.
The 10 Filipino immigrants, who were involved in the fatal crash were members of a medical team from the United States going on a medical mission to Camiguin Island in northern Mindanao.
They made a Cebu stop first to spend a few days of vacation time and enjoy the sights in Cebu before proceeding to their medical mission in Camiguin.
On early Saturday morning, they were enjoying swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob town in southern Cebu and a few hours later headed to their next destination, Kawasan Falls in Badian town, which is six towns away from Oslob via Santander town in southern Cebu or an estimated 90 kilometers from Oslob.
On their way to Badian, tragedy struck. The Toyota Grandia with plate number AED 1299 crashed into a mahogany tree when they reached Barangay Legaspi in Alegria, a town 15 km from their destination Badian.
Seven were killed in the crash while the three others, who survived the accident, were recuperating at the Chong Hua Hospital in a Cebu City.Gilbert dela Cruz, 24, the driver of the vehicle, survived the crash with only cuts and bruises.
He was released by the Badian District Hospital after he was treated and detained at the Alegria Police Station.
Senior Insp. Diaz said that Dela Cruz admitted that he fell asleep at the wheel, but he did not say how fast they were when the crash happened.