Prosecution of slope landslide case, 2 people died in Da Lat

Landslide scene in Da Lat buried a worker couple and killed them. Photo: NX

On the afternoon of July 2, Da Lat City Police initiated a case of "Violating construction regulations causing serious consequences" to investigate the landslide in Ward 10, which resulted in 2 deaths. This move was made when the investigation agency determined that there were signs of violations that needed to be clarified and handled according to the law.

Earlier, in the early morning of September 26, the embankment of the Hoang Hoa Tham construction site in Ward 10, Da Lat collapsed. Rocks and soil from above fell down, burying many houses and camps. Seven people were trapped. Of those, five were rescued by authorities. A couple from Phu Yen died after being buried under the rubble for several hours.

According to Lam Dong Department of Construction, the cause of the incident was heavy rain for many days, the large volume of soil behind the retaining wall caused loss of load-bearing capacity leading to landslides.

The landslide site is a 381 m long earth retaining wall, with a reinforced concrete structure combined with D400 piles. When the incident occurred, the earth retaining wall had been completed about a year ago, and the project owner is currently filling the ground to create a construction site.

This project is built on 4 plots of land, and was granted a construction permit by the People's Committee of Da Lat City near the end of March 2021. This project was constructed and designed by Le Nguyen Lam Dong Construction Joint Stock Company, and the design review contractor was Ha Phat Thinh Company Limited.

Authorities dig to find trapped people. Photo: NX

Lam Dong authorities requested the police to investigate. In addition, the Head of the Da Lat Urban Management Department was suspended from work to clarify the incident. Da Lat City also requested that officials involved in the landslide not leave the area to cooperate with the police investigation.

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