The bodies of a mother and her 8-month-old son were found hugging each other after a vehicle fire in Quezon Province, Philipppines on Wednesday (15 May).
They were among the nine passengers of a tuktuk, or three-wheeled motorcycle, which caught fire after being involved in a multi-vehicle crash.
Source: Bayani Bacuño on Facebook
According to a post-mortem exam, they had hit their head on a metal part of the vehicle before they were engulfed by fire.
Their relatives decided not to separate the bodies and cremate them together to honour the memory of a mother’s love for her child, they told TV Patrol.
Quezon police said that the tuktuk was traversing a highway at 2:10 a.m. to Albay province when the accident happened.
The mother and son were among five family members who died in the accident. Three others in the tuktuk, along with its 32-year-old driver, sustained injuries.
The tuktuk had reportedly burst into flames after being hit by a delivery truck from the back.
It had then collided with the rear end of a passenger bus.
Source: Quezon Police Provincial Office via IBC TV 13 on Facebook
While the bus also caught fire, the driver and all 40 passengers were unharmed.
After the collision, the truck veered off the road and overturned but the driver was not injured.
On Thursday (16 May), relatives of the deceased, including the husband, went to the justice hall in Quezon to file cases against the delivery truck driver.
Ernesto Alberto, the 51-year-old truck driver, will be tried on three charges, including multiple homicide.
Meanwhile, some of the bodies have not been released from the hospital as the delivery truck operator, Marilou Jacob, is struggling to pay funeral parlour dues.
“I feel bad for the victims because this hasn’t been fixed,” she said in an interview with TV Patrol.
“If there’s anyone with a kind heart watching this, please help the victims,” she also added.
Also read: At least 2 dead including Temasek JC student after 6-vehicle accident in Tampines
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Featured image adapted from Bayani Bacuño on Facebook, Quezon Police Provincial Office via IBC TV 13 on Facebook
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