Initial cause of railway accident that left 4 people dead and injured

On the morning of August 26, workers of Nghe Tinh Railway Joint Stock Company were actively overcoming the consequences of a railway accident between train D19E-944 and a 7-seat car that left 2 people dead on the spot and 2 seriously injured at noon on August 25.

Due to the strong impact, more than 20m of the railway sleepers were bent. To ensure smooth railway operations, Nghe Tinh Railway Joint Stock Company mobilized many workers to the scene to fix the problem on the afternoon of August 25.

Workers of Nghe Tinh Railway Joint Stock Company are repairing the rails after the accident. Photo: NH

Observing the scene, at the intersection between the railway and the residential road, there are only signs, no lights, no sirens, no barriers, and no guards. This intersection has a fairly high volume of vehicles and people passing through. Here, the visibility is quite wide, the road surface is quite flat, not bumpy.

According to a witness, when the train was approaching, there was a loud horn. The motorcyclists all stopped, but for some reason the car continued to rush forward. Although people shouted, the driver did not seem to hear, so when he reached the middle of the tracks, he was hit by the train.

According to a railway company official, the train was traveling at about 70km/h at the time, and for the train to stop, the driver had to apply the brakes 800m in advance. Therefore, when the train collided with the car, even though the driver braked hard, the car was still pushed about 250m. "If the train had stopped suddenly, the consequences would have been more serious," said the official.

The location of the accident only had signs, no traffic lights, no barriers. Photo: NH

In Hung My commune, there are 4 intersections between residential roads and railways. All 4 of these intersections only have signs, no barriers or lights. At the accident site, in 2016, there was a collision between a train and a brick truck, resulting in one death.

Previously, as reported by Nghe An Newspaper, at around 10:00 a.m. on August 25, a 7-seat car with license plate 37S - 2427 driven by Mr. Nguyen Duy Trung (36 years old, residing in Nghia Dan district) while crossing the railway in Hamlet 3, Hung My commune (Hung Nguyen district) was hit by passenger train SE8 running from South to North, dragging it about 250m before stopping.

At the scene, the car was completely crushed and damaged, lying in front of the train. Inside, there were 4 men trapped. People then came to pry open the door and bring all 4 people out.

The accident left two people dead and two seriously injured. Photo: NH

The accident killed Bui Duc Hung (born in 1984) and Bui Duc Hien (born in 1992), both residents of Nghia Phu Commune, Nghia Dan District. Driver Trung and Bui Duc Hoang (born in 2002, resident of Nghia Dan District) were seriously injured. The two victims are still being treated at Nghe An Provincial General Hospital.

The victims were returning to celebrate the 15th day of the 7th lunar month at the Bui family temple. On their way to the cemetery to burn incense, they unfortunately got into an accident. The cause of the accident is being clarified by the authorities.