On Monday, members from the Hai Van Tunnel Management and Operation JSC, along with police and firefighting forces from Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue Province, took part in a firefighting practice inside the tunnel.

The fire-fighting practice in progress

In the hypothetical situation, a truck carrying rolls of paper and cartons caught fire at around 9.00am whilst it was passing through the tunnel.  It was about 2,223m in from the tunnel’s southern entrance, and 4,057m from its northern entrance.  As a result, a large volume of black smoke was billowing from the burning vehicle, there was intense heat at the scene, and the blaze had begun spreading to a nearby area.  There were 90 vehicles travelling through the tunnel at the time, with 226 passengers on board, and the fire had caused serious traffic congestion.

Staff from the tunnel’s management centre detected the incident through their surveillance cameras and traffic sensor systems.  They immediately sent an SOS to firefighting and rescue forces in the two localities.

Thanks to the great efforts of the firefighters, the blaze was completely extinguished after 20 minutes.  In addition, injured victims were given first-aid whilst the traffic was successfully regulated to ensure the smooth movement of vehicles past the scene.