The 'life-and-death' moment of a man who escaped a collapsed well in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - Being a lucky person who was saved by villagers after being buried under rocks and soil in a deep well, Mr. Su is still shocked when recounting the moment he "died and came back to life".
| Clip: Mr. Su recounts the "life-and-death" moment in the well collapse incident. |
Two days after the well collapse in Thanh Ha commune (Thanh Chuong), Mr. Phan Van Su (42 years old, Thanh Tung commune), is still being treated at Thanh Chuong District General Hospital. Mr. Su is a lucky victim who was saved by local people after being buried by rocks and soil in a deep well, causing one death in Thanh Ha commune on the afternoon of May 24.
Well collapse in Nghe An, 2 people buried
(Baonghean.vn) - While digging an old well for a local household, two men in a hired well digging team suddenly collapsed and were buried under rocks and soil. Locals were only able to save one person, the other died.
Lying on the hospital bed, Mr. Su's body was wrapped in bandages and covered with scratches by the doctors. There were still traces of mud on the rim of his ear that had not been cleaned. Talking to strangers, Mr. Su's face showed a look of bewilderment, as he was still shocked and terrified after "returning from the net of death".
 |
| Mr. Phan Van Su was transferred to Thanh Chuong District General Hospital. |
According to Mr. Su, a few days ago, he and two friends, Mr. Nguyen Lam Thuan (48 years old) and Mr. Phan Van Duong (43 years old, both from Thanh Tung commune) were hired to dig and expand a well at Mr. Pham Tuong Dam's kiosk in Ha Long hamlet, Thanh Ha commune. Mr. Duong was the main contractor for this project and paid Mr. Su and Mr. Thuan 300,000 VND/day.
They started working on the afternoon of May 23. Mr. Duong was assigned to go down to the bottom of the well to scoop up soil, Mr. Su stood on the well wall to pour soil, and Mr. Thuan was in charge of the rope winch. The work continued smoothly until 3:00 p.m. on May 24, when the tragic well collapse occurred.
“That afternoon, although the sun was scorching hot, in order to meet the construction schedule, we started working at 2 p.m. About 40 minutes later, when I was pouring the bucket of mud that Mr. Duong had passed up from the bottom of the well, I felt the ground under my feet soften. Before I could look down, the ground around the well collapsed. After a loud “bang”, my entire body, except for my nostrils and eyes, was no longer buried in mud.”
 |
| Scene of the well collapse accident in Thanh Ha, Thanh Chuong on May 24, 2019. Photo: Archive |
Mr. Su said that the incident happened so suddenly that they were caught off guard and were in a state of panic. After several minutes of regaining his composure, he calmed down enough to call for help. Feeling that his left arm was still moving, he struggled to get his hand to grab the lifeline on his body and swung it, jerking it hard, signaling to everyone above that he was still alive.
With the last of his strength, he dug the dirt out of his body, then crawled to the surface. About 10 minutes later, a ladder was lowered from the edge of the well, accompanied by a loud shout of “climb up the ladder”. A moment later, the rescue rope lifted Mr. Su up, and he immediately grabbed onto the ladder and escaped.
"Until now, I still can't believe I'm alive, that I was saved by everyone. That moment of "dying and coming back to life", I will never forget it for the rest of my life...!", he said.
 |
| This incident caused Mr. Su to break two ribs and a shoulder bone on his right arm, along with many other injuries. |
This incident caused Mr. Su to break two ribs and the shoulder bone on his right arm, along with many other injuries. He is currently being treated at the Surgery Department of Thanh Chuong District General Hospital. He will soon be transferred to Nghe An General Hospital for surgery.
