HomeSociety At least 9 killed as bus hits train on northern railway
At least 9 killed as bus hits train on northern railway
Thursday, 26 November 2009
A train crashed into a passenger bus in Hanoi Sunday morning, killing a motorist on
the road and five bus passangers.
The bus was
crossing the railway at around 10:30 a.m. when it’s tail end was hit by the
southbound train. The bus was pushed into a motorbike, killing the driver
before it turned over several times.
Three bus passangers were killed on the spot.
The bus was carrying 29 people who had just participated in an
engagement ceremony as members of the groom’s party. All others on the bus have
been hospitalized locally, while four have been rushed in critical condition to
better hospitals in the city for emergency treatment .
As of Monday afternoon, police said nine people had died in the
accident altogether, including Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, 43, and her 13-year-old
daughter Tran Ngoc Diep.
The bus driver and the future groom only received slight injuries.
Police said the bus driver was probably did not look to both sides
of the tracks when he crossed the railway.
At the crossroad, the train signal was out of order with a note
saying it was under construction while another pole with warning lights was
collapsed, the local newswire Vnexpress said Monday.
Nguyen Huu Tuyen, head of commercial transport at Vietnam
Railways, said the company had supported the families of the dead with VND2
million (US$111) each while providing the injured with VND1 million.
Nguyen Van Phuong, a Hanoi
police officer, said the bus driver Phan Xuan Lang has been kept in custody and
might face criminal charges. They also said the railway authorities would be
blamed for the accident.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident and identifying
the victims.
Another train collided with a truck on Sunday in the south central
BinhDinhProvince
killing the truck driver Phan Ngoc Be, a 37-year-old local, on the spot, Vietnam
News Agency said Monday.
The crossroad between the road and the railway then was not
guarded and had no barriers.
Doan Nhu Thien, 45, from the central KhanhHoaProvince, was driving the train.
