Seven people were killed Wednesday in a pre-dawn seven-vehicle crash as tens of thousands of people travelled home to the Philippines provinces for the Easter holiday, police said.
Three people were injured when a 10-wheeler truck slammed into another truck parked on the road in front of an eatery in the town of Taal in the province of Batangas, some 80 kilometres south of the capital Manila.
The trucks hit some of the victims as they ate at the roadside food stall and five other vehicles that were either parked or passing by, according to the police report issued Wednesday.
Six of the victims died on the spot, with one of four injured dying after being rushed to a nearby hospital.
Security forces and emergency teams have been on alert in the Philippines since the weekend amid an exodus of Filipinos from the capital to spend the week ahead of Easter in the provinces.
Work in government offices was suspended starting Wednesday afternoon, while most private offices and commercial establishments shut down from Thursday to Saturday.
