According to preliminary information regarding the Phong Chau Bridge collapse incident, five people were rescued and promptly taken to a medical facility.
As initially reported by the People’s Committee of Phu Tho Province on September 9 afternoon, the flood water level on the Thao River (Red River) rose very high due to heavy rain in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi.
At around 10 a.m. on September 9, Phong Chau Bridge at km18+300 on National Route 32C connecting Tam Nong and Lam Thao districts in Phu Tho Province suddenly collapsed, carrying pillar T7 and two main spans into water.
Right after the incident occurred, the Chairman of the Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee was present at the scene to direct rescue efforts. The swollen and swift river has raised difficulties in search and rescue operations as well as identifying the exact number of missing persons.
Phu Tho Province is coordinating with the Ministry of Transport, the Military Region 2 and relevant forces to urgently mobilize personnel and equipment and deploy necessary measures to search for missing persons.
This afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc requested Phu Tho Province to provide a preliminary report on the damage from the bridge collapse, block roads at both ends of the bridge and use nets to search for the missing.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued an official telegram asking the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security to mobilize forces for search and rescue operations.
