VietNamNet Bridge - On the way to a construction site in Laos, a bus carrying 15 Vietnamese people crashed into a bridge under construction and fell into an abyss. Nine people died on the spot and four others were seriously injured.

The relatives of a dead victim in the accident cried when they were  informed of the bad news.

The workers are farmers from Nam Dan district of Nghe An province who were employed by contractor Tran Ba Anh, also a resident of Nam Dan district, to work in Laos.

After completing a construction project in Attapeu province, in early morning of December 19, the worked took a coach to go to a construction site in Champasack province.

In the late afternoon of the same day, because it was dark and the driver did not know the terrain, the bus lost the way and crashed into a bridge under construction and fell into a deep abyss.

"When the bus was falling, iron rods in the bridge also fell after the car,” said Tran Ba Cong, the relative of victim Luong Van Hung, based on the testimonies of the survivor.

The fatal accident was informed to the families of the victims at night on December 19. Of the nine dead people, six are residents of Van Dien commune and three of Nam Thanh commune, Nam Dan district.

Contractor Tran Ba Anh and his two relatives were also dead in the accident. The four seriously injured people are being treated in Laos.

Mr. Tran Ba Minh, Chairman of Van Dien commune, said that he did not know the names of the victims yet but the bodies would be brought to Vietnam on December 21.

For many years the people of Nghe An have gone to Laos to do business. Previously, on February 23, a bus was overturned on the peak of Na Hin hill in Borikhamxay province, Laos, killing four people from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces.

Photos of the accident:

Compiled by Mai Lan