All train services to and from HCMC have been disrupted since the Ghenh Bridge in the southern province of Dong Nai collapsed at noon on March 20 after it was hit by a barge transporting 800 tons of sand.

The collision sent two spans of the old French-built steel bridge sinking into the Dong Nai River and a third span tilting to the water surface, while the barge capsized. Witnesses of the accident said three motorcyclists fell into the river while traveling on the bridge but survived.

Rescue motorboats and divers were dispatched to the scene to search for victims immediately after the accident happened but found no one, according to a meeting between representatives of the Ministry of Transport, the railway sector and relevant agencies last night. Two steersmen of the barge managed to jump out of the sinking barge and then rescued by local residents, but they got away after they were brought to the river bank.

HCMC authorities sent around 30 professional divers to the neighboring province to help search for possible missing people. They were trying to find anyone trapped in the overturned barge.

The barge had drifted 70 meters towards the Dong Nai Bridge as of 6 p.m. on March 20. Relevant agencies said no one was reported missing in the river but divers were continuing searching the area near the river bank.

However, a freight train en route from HCMC to the north would have fallen into the river if it had not been stopped in time. 

As the bridge is part of the north-south rail line, all train services to and from HCMC ground to a halt. Therefore, passengers traveling from the north and the central region had to get off the trains at Bien Hoa Railway Station in Dong Nai and then got on coaches arranged by the railway operator to travel to HCMC.

In the opposite direction, passengers traveled by road from HCMC to Bien Hoa to continue their journey by train to the central and northern provinces.  

The ministry said the accident would affect thousands of passengers this morning as at least six passenger and two cargo trains would run on the north-south railway in the period.

A working delegation led by Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong and leaders of Vietnam Railways Corporation arrived in the province on March 20 afternoon to discuss solutions for the problem, including building a temporary bridge.

At the meeting, Dong told the railway sector to hurriedly complete a plan to resume normal train services on the route and local transport agencies to secure safe traffic on the river.

Tran Tuan Trieu, deputy head of the province’s firefighting and rescue department, said that the ministry plans to salvage the barge at ebb tide.

The ministry said the accident has seriously affected traffic on the north-south railway. It is expected that the railway sector will announce new schedules for passenger and cargo trains, with Bien Hoa picked as the final station for passenger trains of the route in the south and Bien Hoa, Ho Nai and Long Khanh as the final stations for cargo trains.

The Ghenh Bridge, which connects the two shores divided by the Dong Nai River, was built by the French in the 1900s. It plays a crucial role in the operation of the railway network of Vietnam, linking southern provinces and cities, including HCMC, to the rest of the country.

Deputy PM orders swift action on railway bridge collapse

Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of National Traffic Safety Committee Nguyễn Xuân Phúc yesterday called for a raft of measures to restore normalcy at the earliest after the collapse of a railway bridge on Sunday.

In doing so, he ruled out the feasibility of building a temporary bridge or floating bridge, which means all trains coming to the south will have to stop at the Biên Hòa Station in Đồng Nai Province, cutting short the main North-South rail link in the country.

The Ghềnh Railway Bridge in the southern province collapsed after it was rammed last Sunday morning by a barge carrying 800 tonnes of sand.

Phúc asked Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyễn Hồng Trường, leaders of the Đồng Nai People’s Committee and Việt Nam Railway Corporation to come up with solutions for addressing the accident’s consequences.

He also asked the provincial People’s Committee Chairman, who also chairs the province’s Traffic Safety Committee, to guide local authorities in carrying out rescue operations and restore waterway and railway operations to limit damage caused by the accident.

Relevant central and local agencies should mobilise all resources needed to quickly repair the bridge and restore the North-South railway route in the shortest time possible, he directed.

The Deputy PM reiterated earlier assessments that it would take at least three to four months for the nation’s main rail route to be fully restored.

He said local public security forces should protect the site, investigate the accident and impose stiff penalties on individuals and organisations violating marine traffic laws.

Following instructions from the government, the general director of Việt Nam Railway Corporation has initiated efforts to adjust the rail route schedule towards reducing losses and inconveniences for passengers.

The accident has stranded several trains at the Sài Gòn Railway Station, and stopped others coming in from the Northern and Central regions at the Biên Hòa Railway Station in Đồng Nai.

According to Việt Nam Railway Corporation, right after the bridge collapsed on Sunday, the schedules of 18 trains running in both directions were affected.

Officials said that 1,400 passengers had to be taken to Biên Hòa from Sài Gòn Station and 1,500 others brought the other way around using shuttle buses.

Hundreds other passengers decided to cancel their tickets and choose other forms of transportation. For now, train services on this section have been suspended. The Sài Gòn Railway Station has also announced that it has stopped accepting cargo consignments from yesterday.

Đỗ Đình Dược, deputy general director of the Sài Gòn Transport Company, said the company’s 11 wagons of cargo on its way to the North had to stop in Đồng Nai after the accident.

According to the management of Biên Hòa Railway Station, yesterday morning, the station received more than 3,000 passengers, as well as 1,000 tonnes of cargo sent to HCM City from Northern and Central regions.

Several consigners came to the site to unload their cargos, he said.       

At the Biên Hòa Railway Station, hundreds of staff and police were mobilised to help passengers coming from Sài Gòn Railway Station in HCM City. Despite the situation, these operations were conducted smoothly.

Also yesterday, leaders from relevant agencies and Việt Nam Railway inspected the site and discussed plans for receiving passengers and cargo at Biên Hòa, Hố Nai, and Long Khánh Town stations.

Deputy Transport Minister Nguyễn Hồng Trường asked the POSCO company to prepare plans to salvage the tug boat that sank in the accident.

Another Deputy Transport Minister, Nguyễn Ngọc Đông, visited the accident site and said the ministry will direct the Việt Nam Railway Company to create a train schedule between Biên Hòa City and the northern region.

“This is a serious accident that has affecting marine traffic safety and seriously affected operations of the railway system,” Đông said.

Nguyễn Xuân Hòa, Chairman of Sài Gòn Railway, said at yesterday’s meeting that it would take at least three days to turn over the capsized barge. The plan to restore the bridge will be prepared later.

Salvaging the tow boat will be difficult, officials said, explaining that large-sized vessels cannot enter the river. Hence the current plan is to use a 3,000-tonnes barge and 200-tonnes crane to lift the boat.

The capsized barge, which had drifted 70 – 80 metres away from the collision site, has been secured to prevent collision with other boats or structures near the river.

Meanwhile, police in Đồng Nai Province have said procedures have been completed to start criminal proceedings against those responsible for the accident.

Nguyễn Văn Thọ, head of the staff bureau of the Đồng Nai Police Department, said that the barge crew will be prosecuted for violating marine traffic regulations and causing serious consequences.

“We will transfer documents to the Đồng Nai People’s Procuracy. But the first priority is to correct consequences of the railway bridge collapse,” Thọ said.

Yesterday morning, police arrested Trần Văn Giang, 36, of Bạc Liêu and Nguyễn Văn Lẹ, 28, of Sóc Trăng. Both the crew members had fled to Sóc Trăng after the accident happened. They have been brought to Đồng Nai for the investigation.

Giang and Lẹ are said to have jumped into the river and escaped as soon as the accident happened.

The collision sent the middle span and three pillars of the bridge tumbling into the water.

The 223-metre Ghềnh Bridge across the Đồng Nai River was built in 1902 by the colonial French administration.

Towboat owner in Ghenh bridge collapse case arrested

Police in the southern province of Dong Nai on March 21 detained 62 year-old Phan The Thuong, owner of the towboat with registered number plate of SG 3745, which caused the collapse of Ghenh bridge across Dong Nai river the previous day.

According to initial investigation, Phan The Thuong from Soc Trang province let two persons without ship driving licence to control the towboat, which violates the law.

The two men at the wheel of the towboat at the time it caused the accident were Tran Van Giang, age 36, residing in Bac Lieu province and Nguyen Van Le, age 28 from Soc Trang province.

The towboat was towing a barge with a plate number of SG 5984 and carrying about 600 tonnes of sand from Long An to Dong Nai. It crashed into a bridge pillar on the morning of March 20, causing people to fall into the river. Two spans of the bridge collapsed after the crash.

Giang and Le fled immediately and were seized by the provincial police on March 21.

The Ghenh bridge was built by the French in the 1900s during colonial period and has been used for both railway and land transportation.

As the bridge is on the North-South railway route, railway services have been stopped. Trains on the route must now stop at Bien Hoa Station.

To support passengers travelling between Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, HCM City’s transport sector increased bus service from Sai Gon Station to Bien Hoa and vice versa.

SGT/VNS