Deadly road traps: Open sewers call for sidewalk 'patch up' in Saigon

By Quynh Tran   September 30, 2017 | 09:26 am PT
Recent incidents of children killed after being washed down unfenced drains should raise an alarm: sidewalks don't just need cleaning up.
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A drain hole with no grate on D2 Street in Binh Thanh District. “It’s very dangerous for pedestrians at dark,” a local said.

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A big drain hole has been left open on Le Van Viet Street in District 9 after a road expansion project.

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There are at least three drain holes which are not safely closed along four kilometers of the street.

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A sewer cover on Man Thien Street in District 9 has been damaged for a month.

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People have put some tree branches into another open sewer on Hanoi Highway in District 9 as a warning. “The opening is on the same level as the street, so people will easily drop in there in case of flooding,” a local man said.

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One piece of the sewer coverage on Mai Chi Tho Street in District 2 is missing.

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Road construction on Luong Dinh Cua Street in District 2 leaves a giant drain hole open.

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Another opening down the street, wide enough to fit a large adult’s feet.

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A woman steps over a one-meter deep drain which is completely open for around 500 meters in front of an industrial zone in Binh Tan District.

Open sewers cause tragic incidents in Vietnam every monsoon. An 11-year-old boy was found dead on Thursday this week, a day after he was washed down a drain hole during heavy downpour in Dong Nai Province outside the city.

This video shows rough water during downpour in the nearby Binh Phuoc Province where a teenage girl was killed in a similar incident a week earlier.

 
 
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