Old villa collapses, 2 dead, 6 injured.
The initial cause was determined to be that the building, having been in use for 110 years, had deteriorated, and the continuous rain in recent days led to water seepage, reducing its structural integrity and causing it to partially collapse.
Rescue efforts continued throughout the night.
According to eyewitnesses, the auditorium on the second floor of the building (currently managed by the Regional Railway Project Management Board 1) suddenly collapsed at 12:45 PM. Two sections of the building's side walls fell into the area of alleys 105 and 107 Tran Hung Dao Street, burying many people, vehicles, and property.
Immediately after the incident occurred, many people rushed to dig through the rubble to rescue the victims. Hanoi police, the Hanoi Fire and Rescue Department, and the Hanoi Capital Command mobilized thousands of people and vehicles to the scene to carry out rescue operations.
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| Firefighters are making efforts to reach the scene to search for victims - Photo: Nguyen Khanh |
Later, six injured victims (five seriously injured) were pulled from the rubble, while two others remained trapped.
It wasn't until around 3 PM that one victim, Ms. Le Thi Huong (46 years old, residing in Lien Phuong, Thuong Tin, Hanoi), was rescued, but she died while being taken to the hospital.
Authorities had to use sound detectors to search for the remaining female victim. At 5:50 PM, the authorities found the body of the victim, identified as Tran Thi Nga (36 years old, residing on Bach Dang Street, Hanoi).
Colonel Nguyen Van Quyen, head of the forensic technical department (Hanoi Police), said that initial investigations determined the building was constructed in 1905, renovated in the 1990s, with a floor area of over 1,160 square meters, consisting of three blocks. The second block (approximately 300 square meters) collapsed onto both sides of the building's walkway.
Currently, the Director of Hanoi Police is directing forces to continue conducting scene investigations and quickly determine the exact cause of the incident.
Speaking to Tuổi Trẻ newspaper at the scene, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Quoc Hung said that they are currently directing the evacuation of all residents in neighboring households to avoid danger. Approximately 50 neighboring households have been evacuated and provided with temporary accommodation in the Kim Lien and Den Lu areas.
For each injured victim, the city initially provides 1.5 million VND in support, and for each deceased victim, 5 million VND.
The villa is in serious disrepair.
According to the Vietnam Railways Corporation, since 1955, the corporation has been entrusted with managing and using the building at 107 Tran Hung Dao Street. Later, the corporation further assigned it to the Railway Project Management Board of Region 1, with 35 employees working there daily.
The building has been repaired, waterproofed, reinforced, and repainted several times. It has three blocks: the main facade is two stories high, the middle block is an auditorium with a domed roof, and the rear block is a two-story office building. The middle block collapsed.
At the time of the building collapse, more than 30 employees of the Vietnam Railways Corporation who were working there were able to evacuate safely.
Responding to a question from Tuoi Tre newspaper regarding information that the building at 107 Tran Hung Dao is in serious disrepair but the repair request has not been approved, Mr. Hoang Tu, head of Committee 61 (Hanoi Department of Construction), affirmed that Group 2 villas (old villas that can be repaired or demolished and rebuilt in their original form) like the building at 107 Tran Hung Dao are still subject to normal repair approval.
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| The scene of devastation after the house collapsed - Photo: Nguyen Khanh. |
Mr. Tú stated that the building at 107 Tran Hung Dao is a villa constructed during the French colonial era. “For villas in group 2, we still allow regular repairs to prevent deterioration. Everything deteriorates over time, so there’s no question of not allowing repairs to prevent deterioration for the sake of preservation.”
"Even villas in group 2 that are severely dilapidated can be demolished and rebuilt according to their original design," Mr. Tu said.
Responding to the question of why the villa, which had deteriorated to the point of collapse, was still being used as an office building without warning, Mr. Tú stated that the management, use, and quality inspection of the villa were the responsibility of the owner.
"The Project Management Board of Railway Area 1, which is assigned to manage and use this building, must assess the level of danger in order to develop a repair plan," Mr. Tú emphasized.
Mr. Tú also acknowledged that Hanoi has not yet conducted a comprehensive assessment of the level of danger posed by the old villas from the French colonial era. Explaining why a warning could be issued without such an assessment, Mr. Tú said:
"The inspection, quality assessment, and prevention of deterioration must be funded by the building owners. The city cannot provide funding for assessing the level of danger of all the buildings already allocated to owners."
Hanoi still has 600 villas in group 2. According to Mr. Hoang Tu, there are currently about 600 villas in group 2 in Hanoi. A large number of these French-era villas have deteriorated. "The prevention of deterioration is funded by the investors and users. However, a comprehensive assessment and inspection of the quality of the old houses has not yet been done. Inspection requires money, and quality inspections demand a very large sum, so the department only manages them according to the list and does not have the resources to assess the level of danger," Mr. Tú said. |
According to Tuoi Tre newspaper
