E1 Train Disaster

The E1 Train Disaster was an accident to the express passenger train that derailed in central Vietnam on 25 September 2005 when it was running on the Thong Nhat Railway, killing 13 people and injuring hundreds. Of the 13 deaths, six died on the spot and five in hospitals. Dozens of the injured passengers were in a serious condition, Vietnam's central television reported. The accident occurred in the Phu Loc district, Thừa Thiên-Huế Province when the train was traveling from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city.

The Tragedy

The derailed train was heading from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City when it derailed near the Hai Van mountain pass. Some 350 passengers and crew members were aboard the train, which was heading from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, when eight of the 13 cars came off the tracks near the famous Hai Van mountain pass just south of Hue, Vietnam Television reported.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Minh of Hue Central Hospital said 10 people had died at the scene and another man died in the hospital. Authorities were investigating the cause of the derailment, which left at least two carriages completely on their sides, while the others were leaning off the tracks.

Witnesses said the E1 train was traveling at a high speed when it rounded the curve. Television footage showed the remote accident site bordered by the ocean on one side and the mountain on the other.

Rescuers were forced to reach the site by boat and used dozens of fishing boats to transport the wounded from the area. Doctors at the site were told that at least 200 people were injured and being given first aid at Phu Loc district clinic before being transported to hospitals in Huế or Danang, Minh said. The hospital in Hue is treating 100 people, 60 of whom required surgery, he said. At Danang General Hospital, a total of 31 injured people were admitted, 12 of them seriously wounded, said Dr. Tran Thi Hoa Ban. The north-to-south railway network was temporarily disrupted but would resume by Sunday morning, officials said. The remaining passengers were being transported to their destination by bus.

External links

* [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/15/eng20050315_176935.html People Daily]
* [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/13/content_2690057.htm XinHuaNet]
* [http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2005/03/390205/ VietnamNet]