According to information from the People's Committee of Phu Tho province, on the morning of September 29, Colonel Pham Hai Chau - Deputy Director of the Department of Rescue and Relief, Ministry of National Defense and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Tho province chaired a conference to deploy the next plans to salvage Phong Chau bridge and search for missing people in the Phong Chau bridge collapse incident.
At the conference, the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, Military Region 2 and units participating in rescue and relief, and the Ministry of National Defence analyzed the difficulties in overcoming the Phong Chau bridge collapse incident such as: deep water level (nearly 20m), high flow rate... causing the search for victims and salvage work to not be as expected.
Based on the opinions of relevant units, Colonel Pham Hai Chau requested: The Special Forces mobilize a search force of 20 people, including 15 of the most elite frogmen, to conduct a general search from the foot of the old Phong Chau bridge, with a radius of 10km, clearly identifying whirlpools and currents; mobilizing means to identify search targets. Phu Tho province needs to coordinate with participating units to develop a specific salvage and search plan and method to avoid causing frustration among the people.
Colonel Pham Hai Chau also noted that the search work needs to be carried out practically based on the results of divers searching the collapsed bridge area; at the same time, searching according to the address information provided by the people; there must be daily public information about the progress of the implementation.
Along with that, the Phu Tho Provincial Military Command presided over and coordinated with the forces on duty: Navy, special forces, engineers... to ensure accommodation conditions, service personnel, vehicles, and equipment maintenance at the pontoon bridge overpass.
The local Party Committee, government and departments coordinate well to provide complete, accurate and timely information on the actual search work; disseminate and explain to encourage and comfort families with missing relatives; closely monitor and grasp the political and ideological security situation of the people, ready to promptly handle any situation that may arise. The functional forces ensure security and order; process information to ensure accuracy, legitimacy and consistency...
Colonel Chau affirmed that with the highest sense of responsibility and determination, the rescue force of the Ministry of National Defence will provide maximum support to Phu Tho province to quickly search for the remaining missing victims and salvage the collapsed bridge.
Up to now, the authorities of Phu Tho province have discovered and recovered 4 bodies (1 in the truck cabin, 3 on the Red River) of victims of the Phong Chau bridge collapse on September 9. Currently, the search for the remaining 4 missing victims and the salvage of the bridge and submerged vehicles in the river are still ongoing.
