Ghenh Bridge Collapse: The Captain Did Not Have a Ship Driving License

Without a license, two young men still operated an 800-ton barge pushing ship carrying materials on the river. When they reached Bien Hoa, they crashed the vehicle into Ghenh bridge.

On the morning of March 21, Dong Nai Provincial Police arrested and extradited Phan The Thuong (63 years old, owner of the barge pusher), Tran Van Giang (36 years old, from Bac Lieu) and Nguyen Van Le (28 years old, from Soc Trang) from Soc Trang to Dong Nai to serve the investigation. These 3 people were identified as operating the 800-ton barge that crashed into Ghenh Bridge on the Dong Nai River.

Ghenh Bridge collapsed by a barge at noon on March 20. Photo: Ngoc An

According to the police, the waterway accident occurred at 11:30 a.m. on March 20. Giang and Le were the two people directly controlling the tugboat numbered SG 3745 pushing the barge SG 5984 from Tien Giang province to Bien Hoa city. When they reached the foot of Ghenh bridge, due to lack of observation, they let the barge crash head-on into bridge pier number 2, causing 2 spans to collapse into the river.

Initially, the group of people driving the vehicle that caused the accident confessed to the incident. Among them, the owner of the push boat, Phan The Thuong, said he was the main driver while Giang and Le only followed to help. On the morning of March 20, this group drove the push boat to Bien Hoa City. When they arrived at Cat Lai ferry on Dong Nai River, Mr. Thuong assigned two assistants to drive the vehicle and then went to Ho Chi Minh City on personal business.

Giang and Le did not have a boat driving license but still took responsibility for driving the boat to push the barge to Bien Hoa. The two confessed that due to lack of experience, when they arrived at the location, they encountered a whirlpool and could not steer the barge in the right direction. The vehicle then veered off course and crashed into the bridge leg on the left side of the barge, causing the bridge to collapse.

Subjects Giang, Thuong (middle) and Le at the police station. Photo: Ngoc An

The accident caused the barge to capsize and the pushboat to sink, so Giang and Le swam to shore, called Mr. Thuong to report the news, and then both escaped back to their hometown.

Currently, Dong Nai Province authorities are coordinating with the Ministry of Transport, Ho Chi Minh City Police and related agencies to fix the problem. The police have not recorded any casualties in the accident. The barge owner has also been identified as Ms. Nguyen Thu Hong (residing in Ho Chi Minh City).

According to Zing.vn