At 9.30am on Thursday, a serious truck accident occurred inside the Hai Van Tunnel in Da Nang’s Lien Chieu District.  A 14.4-ton refrigerator truck belonging to Bac Lieu Province’s Trang Khanh Seafood Processing Import and Export Company was en route from Bac Lieu Province to Da Nang.

38-year-old driver Huynh Kim Khai was driving the truck through the tunnel at a speed of 73km per hour when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the tunnel's wall 500m away from its entrance.  Khanh was seriously injured whilst his assistant died on the spot.

The lorry crashed in the tunnel (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

Khai was rushed to the city’s Transport Hospital for initial first aid and was then transferred to the Anaesthesia and Surgical Examination and Emergency Department at the Da Nang General Hospital for further treatment.  He was in a coma with a broken leg and an irregular heartbeat, and his pulse and blood pressure were too low to be measured.  Examinations were made and the victim was diagnosed with broken heart syndrome.

After an operation lasting over 2 hours, the patient was out of danger.  In the afternoon of the same day, he regained consciousness and was able to talk although he remained on a ventilator.

According to the hospital’s doctors, the patient is still in a serious condition due to his traumatic brain injuries and other wounds to his thorax and abdomen.