1 dead, 38 injured as bus falls into abyss in central Vietnam

The Hoang Son bus reportedly fell into the 40-meter-deep abyss when it was traveling on Lo Xo Mountain Pass, part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, between Kon Tum and Quang Nam provinces at noon.

The bus, carrying 42 passengers, overturned after the fal.

A male passenger, later identified as Vo Duc Nam, 49, died on the spot. Nam was traveling with his 14-year-old son, who was seriously injured and transferred to the Danang General Hospital for treatment, news website VnExpress reported.

Among the 38 injured passengers, seven were in critical condition.

Passengers who sustained minor injuries managed to get out of the bus. After rescuers arrived at the scene, they were brought to a nearby medical center for treatment.

Some passengers were provided first aid and took another bus to continue their journey.

As of 5 p.m. the rescue work had been underway to take injured passengers out of the bus and bring them to hospital.

According to the passengers, the bus driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the street barrier before plunging off the road.

The bus set off at 1 a.m. from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, heading for the northern province of Nam Dinh.

Earlier this morning at 1:45 a.m., another sleeper bus traveling on Chuoi Mountain Pass in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong plunged off the road and got stuck in a stream roadside.

Around 50 passengers on the bus, including four children and two French tourists, narrowly escaped death as the bus did not fall into the abyss.

The passengers had to wait in two hours in the cold (as rain was pouring down) and suffered from mosquito bites before rescuers came and pulled the bus back into the road.

After one hour of rescue, the bus was towed away, with its front part badly damaged.

At 5:15 a.m. all the passengers were transferred to another bus to continue their journey to the resort town of Da Lat.