9 killed, 8 injured after bus carrying charity group overturns in northern Vietnam

According to Giang A Trang, vice-chairman of the commune’s administration, rescue and recovery work finished around midday.

The bodies of the nine victims were transferred to the provincial hospital morgue, while eight injured passengers were taken to hospitals in Tram Tau and Nghia Lo for emergency treatment and further care.

Police are currently examining the crash scene to determine the cause of the accident.

Initial information indicates the vehicle is a 30-seater passenger bus registered in Hanoi.

The bus was transporting a charity delegation heading directly to Hoa My Kindergarten, previously located in Ban Mu Commune and now part of Phinh Ho Commune.

The driver died at the scene, while the head of the charity group was seriously injured and remains hospitalized, preventing authorities from immediately obtaining detailed information about the group.

While the official cause has not yet been announced, eyewitnesses reported that the bus was traveling at high speed down a steep slope before it appeared to bounce, flip, and slam violently onto the ground.

“The wheels were pointing upward and the bus was completely crushed,” the vice-chairman said, describing the aftermath.

Trang said that when he arrived at the scene, five people were still trapped inside the wreckage.

Rescue forces used heavy machinery, including an excavator, to pry open the bus and extract the victims. Of those trapped, only one person was found alive.

Earlier in the day, the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security reported that the crash occurred around 7:40 am on a road connecting National Highway 32 with Provincial Road 174 in Phinh Ho Commune.

At the time of the accident, the bus was carrying approximately 20 members of a charity group traveling from Hanoi to the Ta Ghenh satellite campus of Hoa My Kindergarten.

The bus reportedly lost control and overturned on its own, according to a Traffic Police Department official.

Officials from the provincial police and other emergency services were dispatched immediately to provide first aid, rescue the injured, and secure the scene.