Many Nghe An victims in the train derailment in Thanh Hoa

Nearly 12 hours after the train derailment in Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa, the work of overcoming the consequences, rescuing the injured and clarifying the cause of the accident is still being urgently carried out by authorities.

Scene of the train carrying 400 passengers overturned into a field after colliding with a truck. Photo: Zing.vn

4 victims from Nghe An

As of 2 p.m. on May 24, authorities confirmed that two people had died and seven were seriously injured in the train derailment. Of the nine victims, four were from Nghe An.

The two dead people include: Nguyen The Hung (born in 1976, residing in Long Bien district, Hanoi) was the main train driver; Nguyen Xuan De (born in 1985, residing in An Thi district, Hung Yen province) was the assistant train driver.

List of victims in the accident:

1. Thai Anh Tuan (born in 1971), residing on Quang Trung Street, Vinh City, Nghe An Province.

2. Phan Thi Van Anh (born 1976), residing on Quang Trung Street, Vinh City, Nghe An Province.

3. Bui Anh Toan (born 1978), residing in Quan Bau ward, Vinh city, Nghe An province.

4. Nguyen The Hung (born 1976), residing in Long Bien district, Hanoi, has died.

5. Ho Sy Nam (born in 1984), residing in Quynh Xuan ward, Hoang Mai town, Nghe An province.

6. Nguyen Xuan De (born 1985), residing in An Thi district, Hung Yen province, has died.

The three remaining seriously injured victims have not yet been identified.

Work to overcome the consequences is being carried out urgently. Photo: Thanh nien.vn

Shining a light to find her husband in the dark

At Nghe An General Hospital, at 3am on May 24, they received 3 victims of the boat capsize in Thanh Hoa. The 3 victims include: Mr. Thai Anh Tuan, residing in Quang Trung ward, Vinh city, Nghe An province, Mrs. Pham Thi Van Anh, Mr. Tuan's wife and Mr. Bui Anh Toan, residing in Quan Bau ward, Vinh city.

After treatment, by noon on May 24, Mr. Toan was discharged from the hospital. Mr. Tuan and his wife, Ms. Anh, are still being treated at the hospital. Mr. Tuan suffered multiple injuries and is being monitored by doctors in the Emergency Department.

Ms. Anh’s husband, Mr. Tuan, is a waiter on train SE19. A few days ago, Ms. Anh went to Hanoi for medical treatment. At 8:30 p.m. on May 23, Ms. Anh boarded train SE19 to return to Nghe An.

Ms. Anh said that before boarding the train, she did not have dinner because she was afraid of getting seasick. At around 0:30 a.m. on May 24, Ms. Anh went to the dining car - the train car located next to the engine - to have dinner with her husband when she suddenly heard a loud noise. The train car shook and then flipped over in an instant.

Ms. Van Anh recounts the time of the accident. Photo: NL

"In the dining car, there were 9 people having a late night snack and chatting happily when they were startled by a loud crash. The train flipped so quickly that we didn't have time to react. It was very dark at that time, the train flipped, so the train lost power, we couldn't see anything anymore...", Ms. Anh said.

She fell to the floor of the train. Mr. Tuan was sitting only about 1 meter away from Ms. Anh but was thrown out the window. After the train overturned, many passengers in the following cars used the light from their cell phones and rescuers who arrived at the scene to save the victims.

Mr. Tuan was found lying unconscious in a rice field by the railway track after being crushed by iron from a train car.

Prosecution request

After the train capsized, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police summoned two barrier guards, Pham Van Vui (born 1978) and Nguyen Van Hung (born 1983), both from Khoa Truong village, Tung Lam district, Thanh Hoa province, to work.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the authorities.

Mr. Pham Nguyen Chien - Head of Railway Safety Department (Vietnam Railway Corporation) said that the work to overcome the consequences is being urgently deployed. The train cars have been removed from the tracks by the authorities to soon open the line.

The North-South railway line is expected to be operational by early afternoon. Vietnam Railways Corporation has announced that today 7 trains with more than 2,220 passengers will be transported by road through Thanh Hoa.

Mr. Khuat Viet Hung - Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee said that the National Traffic Safety Committee has requested Thanh Hoa Provincial Police to prosecute the accident to investigate and soon come to a conclusion on the specific cause.

The accident occurred at around 00:30 on May 24 on the North-South railway line in Truong Lam commune, Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province.

At that time, train number SE19 was traveling in the North-South direction, when passing through a level crossing with a barrier, it crashed straight into a Howo truck (also known as the "Tiger" truck) carrying sea rocks.

The accident caused the 927 locomotive to fall and 6 carriages to derail, and the cars to be damaged. At the scene, the barrier and electrical equipment were blown away. About 100 meters of track were severely damaged. At the time of the accident, train SE19 was carrying more than 400 passengers from Hanoi to Da Nang.