On July 28, informing Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan - Chairman of Thanh Yen Commune People's Committee, Dien Bien Province - said that the local government had submitted a document to the competent authority requesting to reward citizens for their brave actions, related to the break of the Pa Thom suspension bridge cable on July 22.
Accordingly, the People's Committee of Thanh Yen commune has submitted to the Provincial Emulation and Reward Council, the Department of Home Affairs and the Provincial Emulation and Reward Committee to consider and propose the People's Committee of Dien Bien province to award a Certificate of Merit for achievements and brave actions to Mr. Luong Van Phan ( Pa Xa Lao village, Thanh Yen commune).
The report stated: "Citizen Luong Van Phan's actions did not fear danger and promptly rescued the victims. Thanks to the timely actions of citizen Luong Van Phan, the lives of individuals in distress are protected.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, the People's Committee of Thanh Yen commune has decided to award Certificates of Merit to 10 outstanding individuals in the search and rescue work, rescuing vehicles in distress swept away by floodwaters on July 22.
Previously, as reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, at around 8:30 a.m. on July 22, the Pa Thom suspension bridge in Pa Xa Lao village, Thanh Yen commune suddenly broke, causing the entire bridge surface to overturn and make it impossible for traffic.
The accident injured a pickup truck carrying 3 people and a motorbike driver traveling across the bridge. Of these, 3 people were on a pickup truck and the vehicle fell into the river.
Mr. Luong Van Phan - one of the first people to be present at the scene - said that while having breakfast, he heard a very loud explosion, ran to the Nam Nua River and saw the Pa Thom suspension bridge tilted.
Seeing people floating in the middle of the river, Mr. Phan quickly swam out to rescue one of the 3 people on the pickup truck to safety, then called for help from everyone to take the injured to the commune health station for first aid.
According to the reporter's research, the Pa Thom suspension bridge is 84m long, 2m wide, with a designed load of 2 tons, built in 2004 and has just been maintained by the Economic and Infrastructure Department of Dien Bien district (old) in 2024.
