A passenger bus fell from the top of the Skyway to the ground 9.6 meters below, hitting a passing van in a horrific accident killing 18 and injuring 16 others at dawn yesterday. Police described the accident as one of the worst in recent memory and that it happened as the country began its long celebration of the Christmas season, adding one more to the list of debilitating calamities that has buffeted on this country this year. Miraculously the passenger and driver of the delivery van survived the accident. Also surviving with serious injuries was the driver of the bus. Many of those killed, the police said apparently were asleep or sleepy on their way to La Pacita, the final destination of the Don Mariano commuter bus that began its ill-fated trip in Novaliches, Quezon City in the early morning hours. Many died on the spot but some others expired at various hospital near the scene of the accident, which is several kilometers from the Magallanes interchange and some 4 km to the Bicutan Exit. The bus was facing north when it landed on top of the van. Both were mangled beyond description. Rescuers began pulling the bodies several minutes after the accident which awakened the neighborhood although it happened just before the rush hour at 6 am.
