HÀ NỘI — A crash between a truck and a coach in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai early yesterday claimed 12 lives and injured 33 others. 

The collision occurred at 4:35am on Hồ Chí Minh road running across Chu Sê District, killing 10 people on the spot. Another was declared dead at the hospital. The 12th body was found at 10am inside a metal shop at the accident site when local authorities were cleaning up. The body was covered by goods falling from the truck inside the shop.

All the injured were transferred to local hospitals and the dead were brought to Gia Lai General Hospital to await identification.

The truck is registered in the central province of Bình Định, while the coach is from the northern province of Nam Định.

Both the truck and the coach were seriously mangled. The crash also caused damage to a number of houses on the road.

Witness Lương Ngọc Thạch said he saw the truck running fast and weaving in and out of the lanes before smashing into the coach.

The reason of the accident is under investigation.

According to a report from the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam, the truck was driving at 105kmph at the time of the accident while the coach had stopped its black box, the transit surveillance tool, before the accident.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình, who is also Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee, asked Deputy Chairman Khuất Việt Hùng and Deputy Transport Minister Lê Đình Thọ to arrive at the scene as soon as possible and work closely with authorities on recovery efforts.

Authorities and heads of the Traffic Safety Committees of Nam Định and Bình Định were also required to co-ordinate with Gia Lai provincial authorities to visit and offer assistance to families of victims as well as the ongoing investigation. 
The businesses owning the vehicles involved in the accident will be put under thorough inspection.  — VNS