MANILA, Philippines — An infant survived the passenger bus crash in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro which left 19 dead and 21 injured on Tuesday.

The baby was located near the front of the bus and survived after a relative embraced him and the seat cushion prevented him from being pinned to death.

Police said the Dimple Star passenger bus was negotiating a downhill stretch of winding dirt road that had been under repair.

The bus struck the railing of the Patrick Bridge in Barangay Batong Buhay before falling 20 meters into a ravine.

A mechanical problem may have caused the driver Arno Panganiban to lose control of the bus, police investigator Alexis Go said.

“A surviving passenger recalled the driver yelling at them to hold on because the bus had lost its brakes,” Go said.

“Then the passenger remembered everything tumbling around inside the bus, he heard a loud crash and he passed out,” he added.

The bus came from San Jose town in Mindoro and was headed to Metro Manila when the accident occurred around 9 p.m., police said.

The bus slammed into some stone barricades on the roadside ahead of the bridge and then fell off the road into the ravine.

The impact killed the driver Panganiban, bus conductor Erwin Ebuenga and four passengers in the front rows of seats, police said.

The four fatalities were identified as Leaflor Borlado, Cely Dama, Marciano Ramos and Rudy Bacani.

Regional police spokesperson Supt. Imelda Tolentino identified the other fatalities as Teresita Tupagan, Elizabeth dela Cruz, Virginia Ramos, Lolita Bayle, Anselma Gomez, Gilbert Laguardia Jr., Robert Joso, Josie Salcedo, Judith Gabuco, Nelie Alvaro, Gloria Gabuco, Rodolfo Santiago and Percival Flores. The 21 injured passengers, including four children, were brought to Mamburao District Hospital and San Sebastian District Hospital.

Tolentino said the Provincial and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management offices are now working with local police to investigate the accident.

She said investigators will also determine the liability of the bus firm.

Photographs showed the green and white Dimple Star Transport bus lying precariously on the edge of a dry canal at the bottom of the ravine. Rescuers peered into the bus cabin with flashlights attached to their foreheads.

Investigators will try to determine if brake failure or other mechanical problem caused the accident.

An LTFRB officer shows a worn tire of a Dimple Star bus during an inspection at the bus company’s terminal in Cubao, Quezon City yesterday. Michael Varcas

Investigators added there were no skid marks on the road where the bus plunged off the cliff.

Following the crash, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board grounded 10 units of Dimple Star.

The LTFRB issued a 30-day preventive suspension order against one of the franchises of Dimple Star covering the bus involved in the accident.

The order effectively suspends the franchise or certificate of public convenience of Dimple Star covering the bus route from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro to Manila via Mamburao, Abra de Ilog.

The bus company has been ordered to surrender the license plates of the buses covered by the suspension by Friday.

It was also directed to explain within three days why its franchise should not be suspended or revoked over the accident. The company has a fleet of 120 bus units under 10 CPCs.

The order also said the bus company should have its buses inspected and undergo the Motor Vehicle Inspection Service and have its operators, drivers and personnel undergo a road safety seminar and a compulsory drug test.

The LTFRB yesterday conducted an inspection of Dimple Star’s terminal in Cubao, Quezon City.

LTFRB spokesperson Aileen Lizada said the management of Dimple Star has agreed to ground its other units until its buses are inspected.

She added the bus company’s operator, Hilbert Napat, has promised to assist the injured passengers.

Highway fatalities are alarmingly high in the country due to poor traffic law enforcement, the dilapidated conditions of vehicles and a lack of safety features like signs and railings, especially in far-flung provinces.– Based on reports by STAR/Emmanuel Tupas, Marvin Sy, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Romina Cabrera, Arnell Ozaeta, Ed Amoroso