At about 9.24am on Monday, a fire broke out in a passenger coach while it was in the Hai Van Tunnel in Da Nang’s Lien Chieu District.  The coach was en route from Da Nang to Hue City carrying 32 passengers.

The owner of the coach, 46 year-old Dang Xuan Thanh from Thanh Khe District, was on board at the time and he spotted a fire in the cabin.  He immediately asked the driver to stop the vehicle.  Some passengers then used portable fire extinguishers from the coach to try to extinguish the blaze. 

The inside of the burned coach

Two fire engines and 16 firefighters from the city’s Division of Fire Fighting and Prevention No 4 arrived on the scene quickly.  In addition, the Hai Van Tunnel Management and Operation Joint Stock Company (Hamadeco) sent its rescue vehicles to help the victims.  Thanks to the great efforts of the firefighters, the blaze was completely extinguished within 10 minutes, and by 11.05am the traffic congestion caused by the incident had completely cleared.

The cabin, chassis and engine components of the coach were completely destroyed by the blaze.  Three of the passengers suffered sprains whilst fleeing the coach, and they were taken to hospital for treatment.  The uninjured passengers later continued their journey to Hue on another coach.

The General Director of Hamadeco gave 1 million VND to the driver of the coach for promptly guiding the passengers off the vehicle as well as for getting involved in extinguishing the blaze.  Meanwhile, 5 million VND was also given to the firefighters and rescuers in recognition of their efforts.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.