The severely damaged passenger coach at the scene of a head-on collision on June 17 – PHOTO: TNO

Ha Van Nhung, chairman of the People’s Committee of Dong Bang Commune in the province’s Mai Chau District, confirmed the accident to Thanh Nien newspaper this morning.

At around 12:30 a.m., the coach, with license plate 27B - 003.71, carrying many passengers from Hanoi to Son La Province, crashed into the truck, which was traveling on the other side of the National Highway 6 section.

The collision left the coach badly damaged and the truck overturned. Metal scrap being carried by the truck was found in the coach’s body.

Meanwhile, the coach driver was trapped in his seat and died in the cabin.

The injured passengers were immediately hospitalized at the district’s general hospital, Nhung said.

The chairman added that three injured passengers had died after being rushed to the hospital.

The authorities and local police were dispatched to the scene for rescue efforts and to regulate traffic and launch an investigation into the cause of the crash. SGT