The report of the People's Committee of Phu Tho province stated that due to the impact of storm No. 3, the flood water on the Thao River (Red River) rose very high, at Am Thuong it was +27.25m (1.25m above alert level III). Due to the high and fast-flowing river water, at about 10:02 a.m. on September 9, Phong Chau bridge at km18+300 of National Highway 32C (connecting Tam Nong and Lam Thao districts - Phu Tho province) collapsed, sweeping away pillar T7 and 2 main spans (spans 6 and 7 on the right bank of the Thao River, in Tam Nong district).
Immediately after the incident, leaders of Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee were present at the scene to direct the mobilization of functional forces (police, army, medical staff, local people, etc.) to immediately deploy emergency measures to rescue people, respond to and overcome the incident.
After receiving the information, the working delegation of Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong directly inspected and directed the search and rescue work, treated the injured, visited and encouraged the victims; directed the implementation of immediate measures to overcome the incident and long-term solutions to ensure traffic safety.
Initial preliminary results determined that at the time of the incident, there were 10 vehicles moving on the bridge (including: 1 truck, 2 tractor-trailers, 6 motorbikes, 1 electric motorbike); 8 people were missing; 3 injured people were rescued and taken to the emergency room at a medical facility.
Due to high and fast-flowing floodwaters, search and rescue operations have encountered many difficulties. The exact number of vehicles and missing people has not been determined.
Currently, Phu Tho province is urgently focusing on reviewing and determining the exact number of people and vehicles in distress; coordinating with Military Region 2, Hanoi city, Vinh Phuc province to review the downstream rivers to continue searching for missing people; at the same time, preparing a search and rescue plan for the area at the foot of the bridge when conditions permit, ensuring safety (because the water level of Thao river is very high, 1.44 m above alert level III).
At the same time, deploy remote traffic diversion plans (guiding vehicles to follow the directions of Ngoc Thap bridge, Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway, Dong Quang bridge, etc.); install pontoon bridges to ensure temporary traffic, serving people's travel.
In addition, deploy guards, put up signs, and erect guardrails to warn of dangerous areas, strictly prohibiting people and vehicles from entering; ensure security and order in the area. Increase information dissemination to the public about the incident; prevent and strictly handle those who distort and spread false information.
Regarding immediate solutions, Phu Tho province has proposed that the Ministry of National Defense and Military Region 2 pay attention to installing pontoon bridges to ensure temporary traffic, serving people's travel; proposed that the Prime Minister assign the Ministry of Transport to invest in building a new bridge to replace the old Phong Chau bridge with a modern scale, synchronous with the scale of the current National Highway 32C; ensuring traffic safety, meeting the increasing traffic demand, serving the socio-economic development of the locality.
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