On August 9, Mr. Vũ Thanh Tùng (27 years old, working as a technical staff for a company in Bình Thạnh district) still remembers vividly the moment he rushed to rescue the victim trapped in the series of accidents between 8 cars on Phú Mỹ Bridge on August 8. According to Mr. Tùng's account, on the afternoon of August 8, while traveling by motorbike on Phú Mỹ Bridge, he heard a loud explosion and cries for help from the public, and immediately rushed to help.
“I thought that was something that should be done, without thinking much and quickly rushing to rescue the victim. Anyone of us has a kind heart, and I am no exception,” the young man said, adding that when he knew the victims were safe, he and the others in the rescue group drove away from the scene.
A clip recording the scene of the group, including Mr. Tùng, bravely rescuing the victim trapped in the crushed car after the accident has been widely shared and posted on social media. Mr. Tùng said he was surprised to receive support from the community.
“This is not the first time I have rushed to rescue someone. Before that, I had encountered many other accidents on the road and was willing to help them without thinking much. I feel happy and relieved when the person I rescued is safe,” Mr. Tùng said.
In addition to Mr. Tùng, there were two other "heroes" who rescued the driver of the Volvo car on Phú Mỹ Bridge, namely Mr. Phan Văn Tài (born in 1988) and Trương Văn Thành (born in 1996). Both are working for a company in Bình Dương province.
According to Mr. Tài's account, at around 1 pm on August 8, he and Mr. Thành were driving a truck from Đồng Nai province to Cảng Tân Thuận (District 7) to pick up goods. When they reached the dốc on Phú Mỹ Bridge, they noticed a car losing control and speeding.
After that, the car collided with many cars in front of it on Phú Mỹ Bridge. Upon discovering the accident, the two men stopped their truck, ran to help, and found that there were about 6-7 cars involved in the accident, lying on the road.
Mr. Tài said: “When we got close, we thought all the victims had died. However, when we looked closely, I and Mr. Thành, along with a few other people, discovered that the people in the car were still alive, so we rushed to help them and get them out. Then, we heard cries for help from the Volvo car that was crushed. A man in a worker's uniform climbed onto the car to try and help, but was unable to do so.”
At that time, Mr. Thành quickly borrowed a pair of scissors from a passerby to pierce the windshield. Although the windshield was already shattered, it was still stuck together. They then used the scissors to cut the safety harness to pull the victim out.
“When everyone had managed to get the male driver out of the car, Mr. Thành used a mini fire extinguisher to try and control the fire from spreading. The victim was very lucky because if they had been delayed by just a few seconds, they would not have been able to survive,” Mr. Tài said.
When they learned that the community was calling them and the others who helped the victims in the accident "heroes," Mr. Tài and Mr. Thành were both very happy. Both men said they felt happy and fulfilled because they had done something good.
“We don't consider our actions as heroic or noble, but simply as helping someone in need on the road. We are also drivers, so we understand and empathize with those in the same profession,” Mr. Tài said.
