10:02, 20 – 21 – 22 seconds.
– “Oh my gosh, thank goodness, back up back up”.
That was the moment captured by a surveillance camera from a car on September 9, when the car had just started to go up the first span of Phong Chau bridge, from Tam Nong district to Lam Thao district (Phu Tho).
From the 23rd second, 2 spans of Phong Chau bridge collapsed right before the eyes of the people in the car, dragging 10 people, 6 motorbikes, and 3 cars into the Red River which was flowing rapidly due to the flood.
This person's lucky moment is also the unlucky moment of the victims above.
Miraculous escape
Of the 10 victims who fell on the same two spans of Phong Chau bridge, 3 people “escaped death” immediately afterwards. They were 2 young men who were lucky enough to fall but got “stuck” on the bridge pillar, and Mr. Phan Truong Son (50 years old, residing in Tam Nong district, Phu Tho) who, with extraordinary efforts, tried to cling to a banana tree on the bank and was rescued by local people.
The remaining 7 victims, the youngest 19 years old, the oldest 56 years old, are still "missing", even though the water level of the Red River has receded and the flow has become "gentler".
Another lucky survivor, Pham Duy Linh (36 years old, Thanh Thuy town) was driving his car across Phong Chau bridge right before it collapsed. Hearing a “bang”, through the rearview mirror, the driver saw the back of the truck fall into the river and realized that, just a few seconds later, he and his nephew in the car would have been in an accident.
Looking down at the rushing water, Mr. Linh and the others who had just escaped death trembled, thanking their ancestors and heaven and earth. Around them, many people almost burst into tears, sitting on the street in panic because they had just walked a few steps over the collapsed bridge.
At that moment, Mr. Linh and others, looking down at the raging floodwaters, saw many people and vehicles being swept away.
Returning to Mr. Son, immediately after being rescued, this man was immediately taken to Tam Nong District Medical Center for emergency care, monitoring, and treatment.
In front of the camera and then visited by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong and Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Tho Province Bui Van Quang, Mr. Son seemed to have not yet "recovered his senses". The 50-year-old man's eyes were filled with fear.
Looking back, Mr. Son did not understand "what happened" when, in just a few seconds, he was on Phong Chau bridge to go home and fell into the Red River.
At the moment when he thought he might never be able to return home, to see his wife, children, and family again, Mr. Son grabbed a banana tree. Drowning at the boundary between life and death, Mr. Son met his savior after being swept away 4-5km by the flood.
Hero
Mr. Ngo Van Khanh, 26 years old, in zone 5 Huong Non, Tam Nong district, and his younger brother Ngo Quoc Trung were the ones who snatched Mr. Son from the "grim reaper".
After the people shouted “the bridge collapsed!”, Khanh joined the crowd watching the incident. Looking around, Khanh saw the murky water carrying away many trees and trash.
But a few minutes later, the 26-year-old man discovered a man struggling to cling to a tree trunk in the floodwaters. It was Mr. Phan Truong Son.
Seeing Mr. Son calling for help, Mr. Khanh did not think much, immediately ran out to get the family's motorboat, and rowed with his younger brother into the middle of the rushing water to approach the victim. This action of the two young men can be considered an outburst, stemming from courage, compassion as well as recklessness.
In the midst of the rushing water, Khanh and his brothers struggled to control the boat from the shore to the rescue location of Mr. Son, a distance of 400-500m.
When he pulled the victim onto the boat, Mr. Khanh saw that Mr. Son was covered with large and small wounds, along with panic and trembling.
Four days after the above action, Phu Tho Provincial Youth Union awarded the Brave Youth Badge to Ngo Van Khanh and a Certificate of Merit to Ngo Quoc Trung.
Phu Tho Provincial Youth Union Secretary Bui Duc Giang commented that the actions of Khanh and his brother were brave, intelligent, and not afraid of danger to save people in distress, contributing to spreading positive values to the community.
Efforts of all levels and authorities
Faced with an "unprecedented" incident with extremely serious consequences, Phu Tho province immediately deployed search and rescue operations, overcame the consequences, and reviewed potential dangers...
At the scene right after Phong Chau bridge collapsed, hundreds of people from the police, army, medical staff, etc. under the direction of the Phu Tho Province Disaster Prevention and Rescue Command blocked off the scene and made plans to search for the missing victims.
Two hours after the incident, the Prime Minister signed an official dispatch requesting ministries, branches and localities to focus on overcoming the collapse of Phong Chau bridge (Phu Tho province), and at the same time directed Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc and leaders of the Ministry of National Defense, Public Security, Transport, and the National Committee for Incident Response, Natural Disaster Response and Search and Rescue to immediately go to the scene to coordinate with the Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Tho province to direct the inspection and implementation of incident response and rescue work for the victims.
On the same day, Phu Tho province banned vehicles from passing through Trung Ha and Tu My bridges, so that authorities could inspect, review, and repair the two bridges to avoid similar incidents to Phong Chau bridge.
However, the actions of functional forces at all levels encountered difficulties when facing the fast-flowing floodwaters. With the flow rate being too high, the search for victims and the salvage of damaged vehicles could not be carried out.
At dawn on September 10, the 249th Engineer Brigade of the Engineering Corps (Ministry of National Defense) crossed the river, carrying a pontoon bridge, and "marched" to area 5, Huong Non, to gather equipment.
To ensure the traffic needs of the people, the authorities decided to install a pontoon bridge across the Red River, temporarily replacing Phong Chau Bridge. However, as of the morning of September 15, this task could not be carried out due to weather conditions, hydrology, and flow speed... not ensuring safety.
Previously, on September 14, Major General Nguyen Dinh Hoan (Deputy Director of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security) led a working delegation of the Department to give instructions and request forces at the scene to prepare and have ready means, human resources, plans and strategies to search for missing victims.
Faint hopes
Six days after her brother Luong Xuan Thanh (56 years old, residing in Thach Dong commune, Thanh Thuy district) and his wife Nguyen Thi Huong (48 years old, Mr. Thanh's wife) had an accident while crossing Phong Chau bridge, Ms. Luong Thi Sau (55 years old) still persevered with her relatives to walk along the Red River from Phong Chau bridge area downstream for more than 40km to search for her relatives.
Sitting about 300 meters from the foot of Phong Chau bridge, Mrs. Sau looked towards the authorities searching for victims at the collapsed bridge girder. Occasionally, she asked the police about the situation and results of the rescue.
However, every time she heard the answer from the soldiers, Mrs. Sau became more desperate, depressed and "held her head tightly with both hands".
Similar to Mrs. Sau, from September 9 until now, Mrs. Duong Thi Hoa's family has taken turns staying at the foot of Phong Chau bridge to search and listen for information about her younger brother, Duong Cong Chien (43 years old, residing in Dan Quyen commune, Tam Nong district).
Seeing the Red River recede, the current less rapid, as well as the search activities of the authorities, Mrs. Hoa has a little more faith in finding her brother. Even though, what Mrs. Hoa wants now is only Mr. Chien's body to "bring back for burial".
Colonel Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Commander of the Phu Tho Provincial Military Command, Deputy Head of the Department in charge of rescue and civil defense work in Phu Tho Province, said that there may be people trapped inside the vehicles sunk in the river.
Provincial authorities are mobilizing ferries with cranes capable of salvaging cars sunk in the river.
According to Colonel Cuong, the process of salvaging vehicles from the riverbed only takes place when the flow speed and eddies allow it.
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/mot-tuan-sau-sap-cau-phong-chau-nhung-hy-vong-mong-manh-20240915014954474.htm
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