The particularly serious waterway traffic accident that occurred on the evening of February 21st on Thac Ba Lake, killing 6 people, left heartbreaking pain for many families in Cam Nhan commune (Yen Bai).
According to information from the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration, at about 7:15 pm on February 21 (the 5th day of Tet), in the Lang Can village area, Bao Ai commune, two vehicles with registration numbers YB-0876H and YB-0919H collided.
At the above time, passenger ship YB-0876H, driven by Mr. Trieu Duc Noi (born 1995), departed from an unlicensed people's wharf in Cam Nhan commune, carrying 23 people - all brothers and relatives in Ngoi Song village to wish Tet in Yen Binh commune.
Meanwhile, the stone-carrying ship YB-0919H, driven by Nguyen Van Tham (born 1984), was transporting 515 tons of stone in the opposite direction.
The strong collision caused the passenger ship to sink. 6 people went missing and were later confirmed dead. The rest were lucky to be rescued.
Series of violations named
According to the Vietnam Register, passenger ship YB-0876H was built in 2019, and the inspection is valid until March 2026. However, technical documents show that this vehicle is only allowed to carry a maximum of 12 people, while in reality it carried up to 23 people at the time of the accident.
The regulation also clearly states that ships are not allowed to operate in bad weather conditions or limited visibility; 100% of passengers must wear life jackets when leaving the station and are not allowed to carry more people than allowed.
Notably, the starting wharf is a non-licensed civil wharf. Meanwhile, the starting point and stone gathering point of cargo ships have not been announced for licensing.
The YB-0919H stone-carrying vessel is owned by MARBLE Vietnam Mineral Joint Stock Company, and is allowed to carry a maximum of 538.6 tons. At the time of the accident, the vessel was carrying 515 tons - within the permitted limit. This vehicle still has a registration validity until 2027.
Meanwhile, vessel YB0876H is owned by Mr. Tran Anh Tuan (born 1979, residing in Trung Tam 1 village, Bao Ai commune).
Mr. Tran Anh Tuan bought the vehicle from Mr. Dang Ngoc Chien (born in 1990, residing in hamlet 13, Yen Binh commune) but has not completed the procedures for transferring ownership.
Pain upon pain
What makes public opinion heartbroken is that all passengers on the train that encountered the accident were relatives in the same family or clan.
The six victims who died were brothers and relatives. In just a few minutes, many houses in Ngoi Song village were filled with mourning.
It is known that on the afternoon of February 22, a working delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Lao Cai province visited, expressed condolences and presented support of 25 million VND to each household with a deceased person. Local authorities of Bao Ai and Cam Nhan communes also supported an additional 5 million VND/deceased person.
The accident once again sounded an alarm bell about the situation of operating illegal people's wharves, carrying more people than prescribed and subjective psychology during holidays and Tet.
Currently, functional agencies are continuing to investigate and clarify the cause of the incident and the responsibilities of the related parties.
