Philippines bus crash kills 40

Some forty people have been killed in the Philippines after a packed bus plummeted around 100 ft down a steep ravine.

Ten people, including a ten-year-old boy, survived and nine were taken to hospitals, said police chief Wilben Mayor of Benguet province North of Manila.

Mayor said most of the victims were crushed to death while others were thrown out as the bus tumbled down. He said 39 bodies were recovered.

The bus was carrying about 50 people from the northern mountain city of Baguio when it crashed in Sablan township.

Conductor John Patrick Flores, speaking after the accident by telephone, said that the brakes on the bus failed as the driver was negotiating a downhill curve.

He said the driver was aiming to hit a lamppost to stop the bus from falling but missed and it jumped over a low road barrier.

Accidents in the area are common because of poorly maintained vehicles. Last month, 15 people died when their bus slammed into a concrete barrier in the central Philippines.