Horror crash leaves 14 dead after brakes failed on bus carrying college students

At least 14 people, most of them college students, were killed when the bus they were travelling in hit a post in the Philippines.

The brakes on the bus failed while on a downhill road in the hilly town of Tanay near the capital, Manila.

The students were on a camping trip when their rented bus lost control and slammed into an electric post.

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Safety officer Darlito Bati Junior said ten passengers died instantly and four more died in two hospitals.

Four of the deceased are female, it was reported.

He said more than 40 other people, including the driver, were injured and several are in a critical condition.

Mr Bati said he helped retrieve the bodies of those killed in the accident.

The impact of the crash was so strong that a large section of the bus roof was ripped off.

“The bus is a total wreck,” said Mr Bati, who added that the bodies of the dead were piled in a heap in front of the passenger cabin.

Witness Danny Gutierrez, a garbage truck driver, said some of the survivors of the crash wept while others with broken legs were too shocked to speak.

The bus was part of a convoy of nine vehicles transporting hundreds of college students to a campsite.

The crash happened at about 9am on Monday.

The bus was carrying students from the BestLink College of the Philippines in Quezon City.

They were on their way to Sacramento Adventure Camp in Tanay, 30 miles east of Manila.

The crash caused the post to collapse on to the bus and crush its roof. About 50 passengers were thought to be on board.

It was reported that the bus driver drove into the post deliberately to stop the vehicle after its brakes failed.