VietNamNet Bridge - A section on the extended Le Van Luong road cracked and crumbled on the morning of August 19, creating a big hole of nearly 10m long and 5m wide.

Witnessed said the sudden collapse of the land surface occurred at around 7 o’clock. A bus managed to escape the incident when the land was cracking.

The Welcome Gate structure in the Duong Noi new urban area nearby collapsed very shortly.

At 11.30am, the guard rail system along the road also fell down.

Part of a construction project nearby undertaken by Song Da Construction Corporation showed signs of cracking and soil settling.

An official from the Hanoi Traffic Inspection Agency said the under-construction project might have weakened the supporting material of the soil and broken the underground water drainage system, causing the sinkhole.  

The section was said not to have been flooded due to heavy downpours over the past two days.

Police and traffic inspectors cordoned off the hole to ensure traffic safety.

The extended Le Van Luong road links Hanoi downtown to Ha Dong district.