Sleeper bus fell into abyss, more than 40 people were injured

• June 23, 2015 18:34

At around 12 noon today, a sleeper bus on the Ho Chi Minh road fell into a deep ravine at Lo Xo Pass (Quang Nam). 33 passengers were rescued, many others are still lying in the ravine.

17:30
Mr. Trinh Xuan Loc, Vice Chairman of Dak Glei district, said that more than 100 police officers, soldiers, and medical staff of the province were mobilized to Lo Xo pass.
"Dozens of doctors and nurses followed ropes down the cliff and carried the injured on stretchers," said Dinh Thi Ai Nhung, Director of Dak Glei District Medical Center.
The person trapped in the bunk bed and died was Vo Duc Nam (49 years old, living in Dak Nong province).
The Hyundai car was almost crushed.
17:00
The distance from the cliff to where the car crashed was about 50 meters. The bottom of the cliff was about 150 meters deep, steep, surrounded by bushes, with only 2 big trees. The car fell down and got stuck at the base of a big tree and stopped. A rescue officer was worried that if a strong impact was applied to the car, it might roll further down.
The area where the accident happened had sparse traffic and was far from residential areas - about 5-6 km so there was no traffic jam, but many people still came to watch.
16:00
Rescue operations had to be halted because the overturned bus was stuck and had to wait for a large rescue vehicle from Da Nang to arrive. Many of the beds inside the bus were crushed, so authorities could not determine how many victims were still trapped.
"The driver was unconscious so it is unclear exactly how many people were in the car. We recorded one dead person and seven injured people at the scene,"Mr. Son, captain of Phuoc Son district traffic police, directly participated in the rescue.and added, "many provincial leaders, border guards, and medical staff went down the cliff and had to wait for rescue vehicles because there was no other way."
Many forces were present but could not use human strength to free the car and search for the victim. Photo: Nguyen Chinh.
Previously, most of the victims with minor injuries crawled out on their own, some took buses back to their hometowns.Most of the victims had broken arms, legs, and soft tissue injuries," said Dr. Dinh Thi Ai Nhung (Director of Dak Glei District Medical Center said.
15:50
Vehicles using generator power were mobilized to cut open the car to get the body of the unfortunate man out, but with no results due to the difficult and complex terrain of the forest and mountains.
Kon Tum Provincial Police identified the passenger bus with license plate 48B-00016, driven by driver Le Quang Huan (39 years old, residing in Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province), departing at 1am this morning from Dak Nong to Nam Dinh, at km 1409+100 on Ho Chi Minh Road, it fell into the abyss and flipped over.The initial cause may be due to the driver not controlling the speed.
"The provincial police have directed urgent measures to overcome the consequences and investigate to clarify the cause," said Mr. Pham Truong Dan - Deputy Director of Quang Nam Police.
15:40
Quang Nam Department of Health sent 4 medical teams to provide emergency aid. The provincial border guards also sent officers and soldiers to participate in the rescue.
At the scene, the sleeper bus had its four wheels upside down, luggage, fruits and belongings scattered at the foot of the pass. One person lying on the second floor bed was trapped and died on the spot, many others were injured, some of them seriously, and were transferred to Phuoc Son Medical Center, Quang Nam.
The car overturned at the foot of the pass. Photo: Manh Cuong.
15:20
Mr. Huynh Tan Phuc, Director of Kon Tum Department of Transport, which is located near the scene, said that the victims are being brought up from the 150-meter deep abyss and transferred to Dak Glei Hospital, Kon Tum and Kham Duc Hospital (Phuoc Son, Quang Nam). About 7 people were identified as still trapped in the overturned vehicle.
Lo Xo Pass has had danger warning signs posted for many years. Photo: Quang Nam Newspaper.
15:00
The National Traffic Safety Committee said one person died and six were seriously injured. Rescue workers from Tam Ky city (Quang Nam), about 160 kilometers away, were moving to Phuoc Son to assist.
14:40
The accident happened at 12 noon today when the 45-seat sleeper bus was traveling from Dak Nong to the North. When reaching Lo Xo Pass, bordering Quang Nam and Kon Tum, the bus suddenly plunged into a ravine more than 100 meters deep.
"It wasn't raining at the time, and the scene showed that there was no collision, possibly due to brake failure while going downhill," said Mr. Son, Captain of the Traffic Police of Phuoc Son District (Quang Nam), who was present at the scene.
Rescuers have brought 33 passengers aboard, the rest are still in the deep abyss.
Lo Xo Pass (red mark) is located between Quang Nam and Kon Tum provinces.
Lo Xo Pass is 27 km long, bordering Phuoc Son district (Quang Nam) and Dak Glei district (Kon Tum). The pass has many sections with a slope of 10% and is over 3 km long. From 2011 to April 2014, there were 19 traffic accidents on this route, killing 14 people and injuring 45 others.