Towboat owner, driver in Ghenh Bridge collapse prosecuted
The Dong Nai province People’s Procuracy said on March 4 that it has issued an indictment prosecuting two men involved in the collapse of Ghenh Bridge spanning Dong Nai River, which stranded north-south rail link for 90 days.
Dong Nai (VNA) – The Dong Nai province People’s Procuracy said onMarch 4 that it has issued an indictment prosecuting two men involved in thecollapse of Ghenh Bridge spanning Dong Nai River, which stranded north-southrail link for 90 days.
The prosecuted are62-year-old Phan The Thuong from the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, ownerof the towboat which caused the March 20 accident, and 36-year-old Tran VanGiang, residing in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu, who was at thetowboat’s wheel when it crashed into the bridge.
According toinvestigation results, Thuong asked Giang who has no boat-pilot’s licence tosteer the towboat coded SG-3745, which was towing a barge with a plate numberof SG-5984 carrying 800 tonnes of sand from the Mekong Delta region to DongNai.
However, thetowboat’s engine stopped working when it came near the Ghenh Bridge. Due to astrong current, Giang could not steer the towboat, resulting in the bargehitting the bridge. Two spans of the bridge collapsed after the crash.
Giang and Nguyen VanLe, another person aboard, jumped into the river and were rescued by nearbyfishing boats. They fled to Soc Trang afterwards.
Police said that as Le was the assistant on board, he is not prosecuted.
The Ghenh Bridge wasbuilt by the French in the 1900s during the colonial period and has been usedfor both railway and land transportation.
The new Ghenh Bridge was put into use on July 2, 2016.-VNA
Police in the southern province of Dong Nai on March 21 detained Phan The Thuong, owner of the towboat with registered number plate of SG 3745, which caused the collapse of Ghenh bridge.
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The collapsed Ghenh Bridge (Photo: VNA) 
