A 14-wheel truck loaded with 16 tons of sand collapsed under its own weight and fell into an alleged five-foot deep “sinkhole” in Manila before dawn yesterday.
Michael Lagco, truck driver, said they were on their way to Baywalk in Manila from Pampanga to deliver tons of sand for the Manila Bay rehabilitation when the road beneath them collapsed and suddenly fell into the sinkhole on Remedios St. corner Roxas Boulevard in Malate at around 1 a.m.
Lagco said they were supposed to pass through Roxas Boulevard but traffic enforcers directed them to take the service road instead to give way to the Manila Marathon 2019 event.
The front of the truck had a tarpaulin which read “Manila Bay Task Force.”
Lagco and his two passengers did not sustain any injuries.
Arnel Isanan, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority sector commander of Roxas Boulevard, said it would take some time to remove the truck. Isanan said the truck fell into a huge drainage canal which had no support.
Two lanes of Remedios St. were affected by the incident.
“As of now, we are still looking into the possibility if the hole will grow wider and deeper. Around four to five deep siya ngayon but first, we will start to unload the sand first from the truck,” he said.
The MMDA and Department of Public Works and Highways have installed orange barriers in the area. Cracks were also visible on the road.
Remedios St. corner Roxas Boulevard was temporarily closed to motorists as authorities were still finding ways to pull out the truck from the sinkhole.
“Temporary road closure at Roxas Blvd. Rajah Sulayman NB due to stalled truck as of 11:30 a.m. Expect heavy traffic on this area. Take alternate route,” MMDA said in an advisory.
The sinkhole could just be a drainage construction failure, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Jonas Leones said yesterday.
“Per our chief of Geological Division, he has also no idea of the sinkhole but he suspects it might be a result of some construction works failure or collapse of drainage ways,” Leones said.
He said the DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau will send personnel today to check the sinkhole.
Science and Technology Undersecretary Renato Solidum said the sinkhole is essentially a drainage canal, whose concrete cover collapsed due to the weight of the truck that passed over it. “Not really a real sinkhole,” he added. (with a report from Ellalyn V. Ruiz)
