The burned-out shell of the bus after the crash. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐỒNG NAI — A bus driver has been charged and taken into custody after his vehicle slammed into highway guardrails and caught fire on Tuesday, killing seven passengers and injuring five others in the southern city of Đồng Nai.

Trần Thanh Hải, 41, a resident of the central province of Khánh Hòa, faces charges of violating road traffic safety regulations, police said later in the day, citing preliminary findings from their investigation.

Hải was driving a sleeper bus carrying 37 passengers en route from Khánh Hòa to HCM City when the incident took place. He set off at around 10pm on Monday.

By about 2am the next day, as the bus traveled along National Highway 1A through Hưng Thịnh Commune, Hải grew drowsy and swerved to avoid a vehicle ahead of him.

The bus veered off course, clipping one guardrail before slamming into a second. The impact ignited a fire beneath the vehicle. Hải and a bus attendant scrambled to get passengers out, but the flames spread too fast, quickly engulfing the entire bus.

Seven passengers – including three young children – died and five were injured, and the vehicle was burned down to its bare metal frame.

Nguyễn Văn Út, chairman of Đồng Nai City People's Committee, personally inspected the incident site, visited the injured victims, and extending condolences to the victims' families and comforting the injured.

Nguyễn Văn Út (right), chairman of the city's People's Committee, visits the injured at the hospital, July 21. — VNA/VNS Photo

Đồng Nai authorities offered VNĐ20 million(US$760) in assistance to each victim's family and VNĐ10 million ($380) to each injured survivor.

Senior city police officials also visited victims that day, offering a further VNĐ5 million ($190) per death and VNĐ3 million ($114) per injury in assistance.

The investigation is ongoing. — VNS