Vehicles were buried in the road connecting Laos with central Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo

VIENTIANNE — All 45 Vietnamese people stranded due to landslides on a road linking Bolikhamxay province in central Laos with Hà Tĩnh Province in central Việt Nam have been rescued by Lao authorities.

Landslides on National Highway 8 of Laos, an artery connecting central Laos with central Việt Nam, on August 3 triggered congestion on many stretches. As both ends of this road were hit by landslides, a number of vehicles with many drivers and passengers were stranded. Worse still, the affected areas are in the midst of the mountains where mobile phone signals are unavailable.

The Lao Ministry of National Defence sent a rescue team led by Deputy Minister Lt. Gen. Chanthong Sonetaat to save the stranded, a representative of the Vietnamese attaché office in Laos told the Vietnam News Agency late on August 6.

The team reported that there were 45 Vietnamese nationals on 22 automobiles trapped on the section from Km45 to Km66 of National Highway 8.

As of August 5 evening, all the 45 Vietnamese were saved from that area, including 35 sent to Khamkert District of Bolikhamxay Province and 10 others to Khounkham District of Khammouane Province. All of them are receiving care and recovering.

Meanwhile, a truck with a driver on it was under rubble, but rescuers haven’t been able to identify whether the driver is a Lao or a Vietnamese citizen, the rescue team added.

All the coaches running from Laos to Việt Nam stranded in the Lao side have diverted their path to go to Việt Nam through Cha Lo Border Gate in the country’s central province of Quảng Bình.

On August 4, the Department of Public Works and Transport of Bolikhamxay Province announced the temporary closure of a section of National Highway 8 that is close to Cầu Treo Border Gate of Việt Nam's Hà Tĩnh Province due to landslides. It also said that authorities were striving to resume traffic as soon as possible. — VNS