A mountain suddenly broke, killing a young couple and making congestion on National Highway 6 in Mai Chau district, the northern province of Hoa Binh.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, rock and soil from the broken mountain covered nearly 100 meters of road in Dong Bang commune, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province, paralyzing traffic.

A couple, Ha Van Nghi, 24, and Vi Thi Nguyet, 23, who were traveling on the road, were buried. According to the victims’ family, Nguyet was two months pregnant.

After the accident, the local authorities mobilized dozens of bulldozers and trucks to find the victims and clear the site. 

The Ministry of Transport sent Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong to the scene to instruct workers to deal with the incident.

However, the volume of soil and rock was huge; the clearing task ran very slowly. Vehicles which were on the way of Hanoi – Son La – Dien Bien had to make a detour to Son La province.

Hoa Binh province has declared a state of emergency and evacuated locals.

On February 19, the mountain kept breaking and sappers continued searching the two victims.

Vu Xuan Cuong, vice chief of the Vietnam Road Department, said that sappers would have to deal with the broken mountain at first, and then clear the road.

Source: VNN