Lanao Sur passenger van driver outsmarts hostage takers, kills one

COTABATO CITY (PNA) -- A passenger van driver held hostage by two men outsmarted his captors in a carnapping incident that turned ugly and left one dead and six others injured, including four soldiers in Lanao del Sur.The incident happened in Barangay Lalabuan, Balabagan, Lanao del Sur Tuesday.The Balabagan PNP office reported to PNP-Regional Office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PNP-ARMM) Regional Director Chief Supt. Ronald Estilles that a van plying the Cotabato-Marawi route was on its way to Marawi City at past 12 noon Tuesday.Declared dead on arrival at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC) here was Muktar Makawadib. Injured were Muktar's father Alicoshin, an unidentified companion and four soldiers who were not identified in the police report.Police said the father-son tandem was among the passengers of a van going to Marawi City. As the van journeyed, the father-son tandem noticed it was driven by someone whom they had acts to grind with.So Muktar commandered the Toyota Revo vehicle and his father held the driver.As the van was approaching Barangay Lalabuan, the hostage noticed a military truck loaded with soldiers so he grabbed the steering wheel which led the van to hit the 6 by 6 truck.As the collision progressed, the military vehicle fell on a roadside canal and tilted while the suspects were injured.The original van driver miraculously escaped unhurt while the suspects, and a third companion, were critically injured.The soldiers rushed the victims to a Cotabato hospital where Muktar was declared dead on arrival. His father and a companion were in critical condition.The unidentified van driver reported the incident to the police. The four wounded soldiers only suffered minor bruises.