Who is responsible for the drowning of 3 students in the clean water project lake?

(Baonghean.vn) - The incident of 3 students drowning in Dien Quang commune (Dien Chau) is causing outrage among many people as the incident occurred at a reservoir belonging to a clean water supply project but there was no warning or protection.

Who is responsible?

At 2:30 p.m. on May 29, three students from Dien Quang Primary School drowned in a lake in the commune. Among them, Tran Thanh Trung (5A grade) and Tran Thu Huong (1C grade) are siblings, while Tran Viet Hung (4C grade) is the son of his uncle. It is known that the place where they drowned was a reservoir of a project to provide clean water for the area.

This is a fairly large lake, built with concrete and paved with stone, with an area of ​​about 1000m2, the depth of the lake is more than 2.5m, the water level in the lake this season is over 1.7, the design of the lake is in the shape of the letter V. On the morning of May 30, when I was present at the above reservoir, I observed that there was no fence around the lake, only a sign with the words "NO SWIMMING" but according to the people, this sign was only put up after the incident.

Where 3 students drowned.

It is known that the project belongs to the clean water supply plant project in Dien Quang commune, with a total investment of more than 17 billion VND, implemented in 2013, the water reservoir alone is a part of the project. The capital source of the project is 60% state capital and 40% is contributed by the people.

In addition to the reservoir, the complex also includes a water tank (treated), two houses (including an operations house and a house containing water pumps). However, all of these items are still unfinished, except for the reservoir, which has no fence.

According to the design, after completion, this reservoir will be protected by a layer of B40 steel, 1m high, pillars made of iron pipes of similar height, and a system of signs made of iron pipes placed on the edge of the lake for warning. However, because the project is behind schedule, the contractor has not been able to hand over to the investor, so these items are still unfinished, abandoned for more than a year.

Mr. Tran Van Viet - Director of Dai Viet Joint Stock Company, the construction unit, said: After the incident happened, the company visited, encouraged, shared and supported each child with 5 million VND. The people's reflection that the lake did not have a danger warning sign is not true, we still put up the sign but it was removed by the people, we even hired someone to look after the whole project? When asked about the responsibility for the heartbreaking incident, Mr. Viet said that it was the responsibility of the investor (ie the People's Committee of Dien Quang commune).

According to Mr. Phan Hong Son - Secretary of the Party Committee of Dien Quang Commune (Dien Chau), after the incident, the commune visited and supported each child with 5 million VND, this is a very heartbreaking incident. The reservoir is part of the project, currently due to lack of capital, the construction unit has not yet handed it over to the commune. We have asked the construction unit to quickly put up signs, build fences and assign guards to prevent any heartbreaking incidents from happening.

According to Mr. Phan Bui My - Director of the Center for Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation (Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), first of all, the incident is very heartbreaking, a warning for constructions and projects with reservoirs like this. Particularly at the above construction, the responsibility for such a heartbreaking incident lies with both sides, both the investor and the construction unit.

Undeniable

According to Lawyer Nguyen Trong Hai - Head of Trong Hai and Associates Law Office, regarding the drowning incident in Dien Quang commune, Dien Chau district that caused the death of 3 primary school students, the most important thing to note is the responsibility of the project owner.

According to the provisions of the Construction Law as well as the documents guiding its implementation, when carrying out construction works, it is necessary to ensure labor safety in construction works. Specifically, Circular 22/2010/TT-BXD dated December 3, 2010 stipulates labor safety in construction works.

The project was unfinished and the construction unit was irresponsible in ensuring labor safety, leading to unfortunate incidents.

Clause 3, Article 3 stipulates: “There must be signs at the construction site according to the provisions of Article 74 of the Construction Law. At the main entrance and exit, there must be a general plan of the construction site and work regulations posted. Safety measures and safety regulations must be disseminated and made public at the construction site for everyone to know and comply with; dangerous locations at the construction site such as trenches, foundation pits, and manholes must have barriers, warning signs and instructions to prevent accidents; at night there must be signal lights”.

In addition, Decree 45/2013/ND-CP dated May 10, 2013 detailing a number of articles of the Labor Code on working time, rest time, labor safety and labor hygiene also stipulates the responsibilities of the construction unit.

Accordingly, when constructing new, expanding or renovating works or facilities for production, use, preservation and storage of machinery, equipment, materials and substances with strict requirements on occupational safety and hygiene, investors and employers must develop a plan on measures to ensure occupational safety and hygiene for the workplace of employees and the environment, and submit it to the competent authority for permission to construct new, expand or renovate works or facilities.

For the plan on measures to ensure labor safety and hygiene, it must include the contents on the location and scale of the construction and facility, clearly stating the distance from the construction and facility to residential areas and other constructions, clearly stating the dangerous and harmful factors, incidents that may arise during operation and specific measures to eliminate and minimize dangerous and harmful factors; incident handling and emergency response plans.

According to Lawyer Trong Hai, the fault lies partly with the contractor not placing warning signs or ensuring labor safety during construction. Due to the contractor's fault, human damage occurred, so they are partly responsible for compensating for non-contractual damages to the injured party. Specifically, according to Article 627 of the Civil Code, Chapter XXI of the Civil Code (BLDS) and Resolution No. 03/2006/NQ-HDTP dated July 8, 2006 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court guiding a number of provisions of the Civil Code on liability for non-contractual damages.

According to Lawyer Hai, the construction unit must also be subject to administrative sanctions for violations in construction activities when it fails to comply with regulations on ensuring construction safety according to Decree 121/2013/ND-CP dated October 10, 2013 of the Government.

In this case, the construction unit may be fined from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 if it does not establish technical measures and organizes construction without measures to ensure labor safety, without safety signs, without records, documents, or decisions to establish a labor safety and protection system organization.

Bac Vu - Cong Ly