20 killed after Xmas mass bus crash in Philippines

Twenty pilgrims have killed after their bus was involved in a head-on collision while travelling to Christmas Day mass in the Philippines.

Local media are reporting a five-month-old baby, a seven-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl are among those who have died.

The dead are believed to be part of the same extended family, AFP reports.

They were travelling in a small bus, called a jeepney, to an early morning service at the famous Our Lady of Manaoag church in the northern Philippines.

Police said their bus crashed at 3.30am (7pm GMT on 24 December) into a larger bus in the town of Agoo, La Union, 125 miles north of the capital Manila.

The jeepney's engine came out of the front of the vehicle, which was largely crushed.

Another 10 passengers on the bus were injured and taken to the local hospital, Agoo Chief Inspector Roy Villanueva said.

A report from Mr Villanueva said the smaller vehicle veered out of its lane to overtake another vehicle before crashing into the oncoming bus.

The driver and 19 passengers were "dead on arrival", the report added.

It said the driver of the other bus was unharmed but 15 passengers and a conductor sustained minor injuries.

Some of the families of those who died were quickly notified while others arrived at the town's hospital to look after their injured relatives.

The Philippines, a majority Catholic country, has experienced several devastating incidents in the run up to Christmas Day.

On Saturday morning at least 37 people died in a shopping mall fire in the southern city of Davao.

A tropical storm towards the end of the week killed more than 200 people, with the death toll expected to rise as villages flooded.

Source: Sky News