Deadly pileup jams Vietnam expressway

By Huu Nguyen - Phuoc Tuan January 3, 2017 | 09:24 pm PT

Two passenger buses get stuck behind a container truck on the expressway on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Expressway Services Engineering JSC

Two passenger buses and a container truck were caught in a terrible mess that killed one and critically injured five.

Two passenger buses and a container truck collided early Wednesday, blocking traffic on an expressway between Ho Chi Minh City and its neighboring Dong Nai Province.

The crash left one person dead and 11 injured; of the injured, five have been in critical conditions.

Investigators say a container truck lost control and jumped the center divider, blocking traffic on the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway at around 5AM.

A passenger bus rear-ended the truck, flipping onto its side; another was jammed against the divider.

Managers of the road said a dozen injured passengers were pulled from the overturned bus and rushed to hospital, where one died a couple hours later.

The head of a bus is smashed. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Expressway Services Engineering JSC

The two-lane expressway, which opened to traffic in early 2015, permits vehicles to travel at up to 120 kph (74.5 mph) -- the highest speed allowed in Vietnam, according to Vietnam Expressway Corporation, the investor of the $906-million project.

The 55-kilometer road significantly cuts the distance between Ho Chi Minh City and the planned Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai. It also cuts travel time to the Dau Giay intersection (which leads to the Central Highlands resort town of Da Lat) from three hours to one.

Every day, around 45,000 cars and buses use the expressway, which suffered at least two deadly wrecks in 2016.

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