After the Pa Thom suspension bridge across the Nam Nu River (in Pa Xa Lao village, Thanh Yen commune, Dien Bien province) suddenly had a broken cable, the bridge surface collapsed, making it impossible to travel since the morning of July 22.
Meanwhile, Pa Thom suspension bridge plays a role in connecting traffic in Pa Xa Lao village (centre of the old Pa Thom commune) with Pung Bon, Pa Thom and Huoi Moi villages.
Thanh Yen commune leaders said that to ensure the safety of the people, the commune has completely banned people and vehicles from crossing the Pa Thom suspension bridge at 2 locations: from the 3rd intersection of the Pa Thom Kindergarten gate to the suspension bridge; and from the temporary iron bridge across the stream (on the route from Pung Bon village to Pa Xa Lao village - the road section goes straight from the 3rd intersection with a left turn to the temporary iron bridge).
Therefore, people traveling from Pa Xa Lao village to Pung Bon, Pa Thom, Huoi Moi villages will be diverted to the right at the intersection of Pa Thom Kindergarten gate, about 500m to cross the temporary iron bridge. From Pung Bon, Pa Thom, Huoi Moi villages to Pa Xa Lao village to the intersection, there is a left turn to the temporary iron bridge to move across the bridge.
Talking to Lao Dong, Mr. Quang Van Toan (40 years old, Pung Bon village, Thanh Yen commune) said: "Every day I have to cross the suspension bridge to get to the commune center. When I learned that the cable-stayed bridge had broken, I was quite worried, but luckily there was a temporary iron bridge to go.
However, Mr. Toan also said that this temporary iron bridge was originally only for heavy trucks to avoid the Pa Thom suspension bridge, making travel inconvenient, especially in the muddy rain.
"We hope that the authorities will soon repair and repair the suspension bridge so that travel is stable and safe, especially during the rainy and flood season" - Mr. Toan added.
Previously, at around 8:30 a.m. on July 22, the Pa Thom suspension bridge in 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.
According to the information received by the reporter, the identities of the victims include: Le Xuan T. (born in 1982) - an officer of the Economic Department of Thanh Yen commune; Tu Khoa T. (born in 1968); Vu Bao L. (born in 1991) and Lo Van T. (born in 1985).
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan - Chairman of Thanh Yen Commune People's Committee - said: "The initial assessment of the cause of the incident was due to the impact of heavy rain, the bridge was old. The initial damage is estimated at about 1.2 billion VND, of which the cost of bridge damage is 800 million VND and the damage to the pickup truck is 400 million VND".
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.
