8 die in passenger bus, tractor collision in central Vietnam

Witnesses said the vehicles were traveling in the opposite direction and rammed into each other at an intersection of Road 129 which runs along the coast in Tam Hiep Commune, Nui Thanh District.

The bus turned turtle and six passengers died on the spot, including its driver Pham Duc Hau, 48. Two others were rushed to hospital but doctors could not save them.

Vo Chi Cong, a driver who was taking a rest at a nearby coffee shop, said the collision was very loud and as people rushed out of their house, they saw the passenger bus turned over.

"There were faint cries for help from inside the bus. I and many other people used wood bars and crowbars to break the glass and open the bus's doors to carry the passengers out," Cong said.

There were 21 people on the bus at the time of the accident. Most of them are from the central Quang Ngai Province and were on their way to Da Nang which borders Quang Nam for health examinations.

The remaining 13 passengers were injured and have been taken to Quang Nam General Hospital.

A passenger bus carrying 20 people is badly damage after hitting a tractor in Quang Nam Province, February 14, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Linh

Data from the Department for Roads of Vietnam shows that the passenger bus was moving at 69 kph at the time of the accident and the tractor 30 kph.

Ten seconds before the crash, the bus was moving at 73 kph and the tractor 48 kph, it said.

The coastal area from Quang Nam to Da Nang was foggy early on Tuesday morning and drivers could only see clearly within seven meters. The fog was still dense by 8:30 a.m.

The police are investigating the cause of the accident.