The fateful journey
On November 17, at Khanh Hoa General Hospital (Nha Trang ward), Mr. Dao Dang Thong (32 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) was still shy when remembering the moment he was rescued from a passenger bus buried by rocks and soil.
On the evening of November 16, he and his wife took a Phuong Trang bus on the Da Lat - Quang Ngai route to visit a house in Dak Lak province. At this time, the vehicles move through roads where it is raining heavily and the pass is dangerously steep.
At around 10pm, while sleeping, he heard a loud "noise", then the rainwater splashed into his face, waking him up. Outside, it was dark, the car was chaotic, the screams were everywhere, Mr. Thong recounted.
Located on the lower floor, near the driver's seat, he suffered minor injuries, but his wife was stuck and had severe pain in both legs. Some truck drivers nearby used hammers to break the windows and open the exit.
"I was lying near the exit, if my wife and I couldn't get out, it would be difficult for the people behind us to get out. I told my wife, "I'm in pain so you can take me out", then removed the pieces of glass to open the way out," he recalled. After that, he returned with some people to rescue the remaining victims.
At around 0:00 on November 17, the authorities arrived at the scene and deployed rescue, but heavy rain and many landslides made travel difficult. It was not until 3am that Mr. Thong and his wife were taken to the hospital.
Actively treating victims
At treatment area B, Ms. Truong Thi My Linh (28 years old, residing in Quang Ngai) is lying fixely with a broken left arm. Her husband broke his leg.
Ms. Linh said that the moment rocks and soil fell down, exposing the ceiling of a car, it was so haunting that she "did not dare to close her eyes". "A part of the rock hit my hand. If it had fallen a little further, I would not be here anymore, Ms. Linh shared.
In the same treatment room, Mr. Nguyen Van Tu (59 years old, living in Quang Ngai) kept shaking himself when recalling: "I was so lucky to survive. If I had lie slightly off position, I would not have survived.
According to Mr. Dang Duy Thanh, Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa General Hospital, the unit is currently treating 17 injured victims. Of which, there are 5 patients with head injuries, the remaining cases with broken arms, legs, ribs... All are treated stably, no longer endangering their lives.
Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee Tran Hoa Nam directly visited, encouraged and presented emergency support. The province also sent condolences and initial support to the families of the deceased victims.
The landslide on Khanh Le Pass at a time of great rain, the affected area was between two other landslides at Km43 and Km47, making it impossible for vehicles and authorities to access immediately.
At the scene, 6 victims died, and the authorities took the victims' bodies away from the scene at 11am on November 17. The entire body was transferred to the headquarters of Khanh Hoa General Hospital for identification and handover to the family.
As for the rescue team, while taking the bodies of the last two victims out of the scene, they were completely isolated due to a landslide nearby. By 11:00 a.m. on November 17, all 15 officers and soldiers had crossed the forest road, escaped the danger zone and returned to their safe units.
According to the Department of Construction of Khanh Hoa province, from dawn to noon on November 17, on Khanh Le Pass, there continued to be a number of new landslides that could not be cleared, leading to the statistics of all landslides on the route not being completed.
Khanh Hoa province has sent a working group to be on duty at the scene, and at the same time coordinated with Lam Dong province to overcome the consequences with the participation of many forces.
