Train driver killed in crash with truck in central Vietnam

Officers examine the site of a crash between a train and a truck in Quang Tri Province the night of March 10, 2015. Photo: Vu Vu

The driver of a train was killed when it hit a truck and derailed in central Vietnam on Tuesday night, taking officials hours to clear the traffic.

Police said the southbound train crashed into the truck at a crossing in Quang Tri Province at around 10 p.m.

An investigator said the crossing does not have a barrier but has automatic warning signs, but the truck driver must have ignored that.

The collision was strong enough it smashed the train’s locomotive, killing the 53-year-old driver Le Van Phu, who was stuck inside.

Three other train passengers were injured and rushed to hospital. The driver of the truck, which was carrying rock, broke his legs and suffered spinal cord injuries.

The first three carriages derailed.

Do Thuy Hang, a train attendant on the second one, told news website VnExpress that she was chatting with some passengers when there was a loud bang.

“Everything tumbled, everyone was panicked.”

Hang was injured on her right arm.

Nearly 100 police officers and railway workers arrived at the site for rescue.

It took them until early Wednesday morning to tow all 14 the carriages with around 500 passengers to Quang Tri Railway Station, more than ten kilometers away.

They also had to pick up rock that fell from the truck.

An official said the province has provided the train driver’s family VND5 million (US$235) as initial support.

Police are investigating further.

Statistics from the Railway Authority at Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport showed that 70 percent of Vietnam’s railway accidents occur at crossroads, and in more than 80 percent of those cases, the roads were illegally and poorly built with no barriers or warning lights.