Victims of the bus crash in Laos tell their stories
(Baonghean.vn) -“At around 2pm, after passing a high pass, the car slowly went downhill, then lost control and crashed onto the road. The scene that appeared before our eyes was the sound of miserable cries, broken glass and blood in the chaotic wreckage,” Mr. Tong Van Lo said while lying on his hospital bed about the terrifying trip.
>> Passenger bus overturned in Laos, dozens of casualties
One day after the bus accident in Laos, the victims who were taken to Nghe An for emergency treatment are now out of danger. Doctors said that many victims have been transferred to Hanoi by their families for convenient care. Currently, only Mr. Luong Van Huong suffered a traumatic brain injury and had to undergo emergency surgery. Some other patients with less serious injuries are being treated at Nghe An General Hospital.
On his hospital bed, Mr. Tong Van Lo tried to ask about his wife's health while recounting this fateful trip. As Thai ethnic people in Son La, both of them had long wanted to travel and explore Laos and Thailand. After registering for a tour with a travel agency in Moc Chau, the couple, along with 14 other people, most of whom were couples, traveled from Son La to Vinh city on the night of April 19. There, they joined a group of 20 tourists from Hanoi. On the morning of April 20, after breakfast, the entire group of 36 tourists were guided to board a tourist car with a Lao license plate to begin their journey. The car ran smoothly, passing through Nghe An and then to Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh).
Mr. Tanh and Mrs. Bai recount their fateful trip.
After completing the exit and entry procedures, the group continued to get on the bus and crossed the forest road to Laos. As they were traveling to Laos for the first time, they were very excited to admire the scenery on both sides of the road. At noon, the bus stopped at a restaurant in Lac Xao town to eat. At around 1 p.m., the bus started to depart, following Highway 13 to the capital Vientiane. Mr. Lo and Mrs. Ot both took a nap. About an hour later, while the bus was running on the forest road, it suddenly shook, fell over and flipped over onto the road. “At that time, I had a sharp pain in my chest, trying to look to the side to get my wife up. The scene was chaotic with piles of luggage, broken glass and blood everywhere. Panic screams echoed in the middle of the deserted road,” Mr. Lo recalled.
At the trauma department, many more seriously injured victims are also being monitored and treated intensively. Mrs. Ha Thi Bai (69 years old), with a bruised face and a broken arm strapped to her chest, is trying to pull a thin sheet to cover her husband, Mr. Ha Tanh (71 years old), who is lying motionless on the hospital bed. She said that she and her husband are from Phu Yen, Son La. Before the car overturned, he was showing her the scenery of the mountain pass on both sides. Then, "probably because the driver lost his brakes, the car plunged down and flipped over in a split second. Both my husband and I were seriously injured and passed out. When we woke up, we found ourselves in an ambulance."
A young man (name not given) said that he was the leader of a tourist group from Son La. Due to minor injuries, he took the initiative to contact the victims' families, handle the procedures at the travel agency, complete the procedures at the hospital and call for transportation for victims who needed to be transferred to another hospital. Immediately after the accident, relatives of the victims in Hanoi and Son La immediately took a bus to Nghe An. On the morning of April 21, many people present at the hospital decided to hire an ambulance to transport their relatives to Hanoi for convenient care. Some other victims are being treated while waiting for their relatives to come and take care of them.
Victims of the car crash are being treated at Nghe An General Hospital.
Dr. Nguyen Duc Phuc - Head of the Emergency Department, Nghe An General Hospital said that as soon as the victims of the accident were admitted, even though it was a holiday, the hospital's best doctors and nurses were mobilized to provide emergency care to the victims. According to information, 3 people died. Those admitted to the hospital all suffered multiple injuries to the head and chest, some had broken limbs and broken ribs, all of whom are being treated in functional departments in the hospital.
It is known that 36 tourists from Hanoi and Son La in this bus accident were organized by a travel agency in Vinh city to go on a 7-day Laos-Thailand tour, costing about 9.6 million VND per person. Mr. Ha Tanh said that immediately after the accident, this travel agency actively called an ambulance to take the victims to Nghe An. When the bus overturned, the local people and authorities of Laos also enthusiastically helped the victims.
Thuy Vinh - Nguyen Khoa
