All 17 passengers on the minibus have either been killed or critically injured.
The minibus was going from Quang Tri Province to Binh Dinh Province for a wedding ceremony when it crashed into the container truck trailer traveling in the opposite direction at around 2 a.m. on Monday. Among the dead was the groom, who was going to pick up his bride. His mother and sister who traveled along were also killed.
The accident took place on a National Highway 1A section in Dien Ban Town in the central province of Quang Nam, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Da Nang.
Ten people were killed on the spot and three died on the way to a local hospital. Four others remain in critical condition, local reports said. The driver of the bus was among the dead, while the truck driver sustained minor injuries.
Duong Chi Linh, a groom's relative who drove a car behind the mininus, said the bus' driver had swerved and hit the container truck. "He probably fell asleep." Linh's wife died in the accident.
The dead people will be taken to their hometown for funeral services today, said Quang Nam Chairman Dinh Van Thu.
Both vehicles were badly damaged in the accident, which provincial authorities are investigating.
Road crashes are a leading cause of deaths in Vietnam, killing almost one person every hour. A total of more than 9,000 traffic accidents occurred in the first half of this year, killing nearly 4,100 people and injuring over 7,000, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.
The accident took place on National Highway 1A in Quang Nam Province at 2 a.m. om Monday. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh |