While trying to push the car out of the landslide area, the rocks suddenly slid again, Vu Mi Sinh was buried and could only stick his head above the ground. Sinh used his hands to scrape the rocks away, to get some breathing space and was promptly rescued by the authorities.
Afternoon of July 13, PV reported Newspaper present at the Emergency Department, Ha Giang General Hospital. This is where the lucky survivors of the landslide that buried a passenger bus in Bac Me district are being treated, killing 11 people and injuring 4 others.
Lying on the hospital bed with a face still in shock, Vu Mi Sinh (born 2004, Khau Vai commune, Meo Vac district, Ha Giang province) shared: Up to now, my whole body still aches and I cannot sit up.
Mr. Sinh confided that he works as a factory worker in Hanoi, and because he hasn’t been home for a long time, he asked for leave this time to visit his family. At home, there is still a young wife and two small children.
After a long journey from Hanoi to Ha Giang City. It was past 2am when we arrived. At that time, a bus running the Ha Giang – Cao Bang route passed by our house, so we got on the bus to go home.
At around 3am on July 13, the bus departed from Ha Giang Bus Station, with about 20 people, both adults and children, on board. When it arrived at Ta Mo village, Yen Dinh commune, Bac Me district at around 4am, rocks and soil suddenly slid down and the bus got stuck up to the tires and could not move.
At this time, everyone shouted to each other to get down and push the cart, but it couldn’t move. There were still 2-3 people on the cart. There was a small car nearby that saw the cart stuck in the mud and also helped push it.
Doctors examine Lo Mai Phuong.
A moment later, the area continued to collapse. People shouted to each other to run, not knowing where to go. After running a few steps, the rocks and soil crushed them. About 5 minutes later, another landslide occurred.
“The first time I heard people calling for help, but the second time I didn’t hear anything,” Sinh said with a sad face.
Suppressing the pain, Mr. Sinh said: “At that time, I thought my life would end here, I couldn’t escape. I didn’t know, I probably wouldn’t die if no one could save me. At that time, I could only stick my head above the ground, so I used my hands to scratch away some dirt to breathe, but I still couldn’t move because the rocks and soil were pressing down on me. Behind me, there was also a man who was crushed by rocks and soil. At first, he was able to scratch away the dirt and soil to breathe. But when the second landslide came, he couldn’t breathe anymore.
Authorities are urgently searching for those buried.
At around 6am, ambulances and police arrived to dig. Then 30 minutes later, people brought him out and took him to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Along with Mr. Sinh, the three other victims who were lucky enough to survive this horrific landslide were Lo Mai Phuong (born in 2016, residing in Than Uyen district, Lai Chau province); Ma Thi Duyen (born in 1989, Bao Lam district, Cao Bang province); and Giang A Tran (born in 2005, Yen Cuong commune, Bac Me district).
According to Ha Giang General Hospital, the health of the four victims is basically stable. The patients suffered abrasions on many parts of their bodies and have limited mobility. Doctors and nurses are still closely monitoring the health of the patients.
Previously, as Newspaper reported that at around 4am on July 13, a passenger car with license plate 29E-024.89 (16 people on board) traveling on the Ha Giang – Cao Bang route passed a landslide on National Highway 34, at km 10+950 in Ta Mo village, Yen Dinh commune, Bac Me district, when rocks and soil suddenly collapsed, burying many people.
By 1:30 p.m. the same day, 11 people were found dead and 4 injured.