Rescue work at landslide site continues overnight, 14 bodies retrieved
VOV.VN - Rescue workers are scheduled to work overnight at a landslide site in Quang Tri province to search for the remaining 8 bodies after 14 bodies were pulled out from debris during the day.
All the 22 military officers and soldiers were buried in debris after a landslide struck their camp in Cop village, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province, early October 18. Five others managed to survive the tragic incident with assistance from their colleagues.
The Ministry of Defence immediately dispatched regular forces to support rescue work. By 16.45hrs 14 bodies had been pulled out from debris, according to Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Deputy Minister of Defence.
From the command station set up outside the landslide site, Vo Van Hung, chairman of the Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee, told the media that more than 500 rescue workers were racing against time to search for the victims
“The scene was horrifying, it was about 5,000 m3 of mud and fallen trees piled up…,” said Hung, adding that rescue workers would work overnight to find the remaining victims in the earliest possible time.
However, he said for safety reasons rescue forces were ordered to suspend work if heavy rain continued to fall overnight.
More rescue forces were deployed to Cop village where the incident happened to carry out a dual goal of searching for the victims in the rubble and providing food to people in the cutoff areas.
It is expected the road to the landslide site would be opened to traffic on October 19 morning, making it easier for relevant forces to take the victims’ bodies out. The bodies would be then transported to a hospital in Dong Ha city.
This is the second tragic landslide that has killed many military officers and soldiers in central Vietnam which has been hit by two tropical storms and low depressions over the past few days.
On October 12, a landslide fell down on a house complex of the Song Bo Forest Rangers Station in Thua Thien Hue province, killing 13 people, of whom 11 were military officers and soldiers. A memorial services for them was held in Hue city on October 18.
Over the past 10 days, heavy rain, flashfloods and landslides have left 84 dead and more than 30 missing in central Vietnam. Rain is forecast to lash the region in the coming days, causing water levels in the regional river system to swell up.
Weather experts warned about possible landslides and flashfloods in coastal, low-lying and mountainous areas.
