Initial cause of 4-storey house collapse in Ho Chi Minh City

On the afternoon of September 24, the scene of the collapse of a 4-story house located in alley 113, Binh Quoi Street, Ward 27, Binh Thanh District (HCMC) was still strictly blocked off to ensure safety for rescue work.

The house collapsed between two buildings. Photo: MT

According to records, the collapsed house was more than 10m wide, about 20m deep, and was located between two houses of similar height.

According to Major Huynh Nguyen Thuan - Deputy Captain of the Fire Fighting and Rescue Team of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City Police (PC07), the preliminary cause of the collapse was determined to be that the house showed signs of tilting and the homeowner hired workers to repair and reinforce it.

Major Huynh Nguyen Thuan said that at the time of the collapse, there were 9 people, including 3 homeowners and 6 workers. At the time of the incident, 2 people were standing outside and escaped, while 7 people were crushed by the concrete.

A victim is brought out by rescue forces. Photo: PC07.

According to Major Huynh Nguyen Thuan, at 12:52, upon receiving information about the incident, the authorities of Binh Thanh District quickly arrived and rescued 5 people and took them to the emergency room, while 2 people were trapped deep inside. After that, the Fire Prevention and Rescue Force of PC07 arrived at the scene to assist in the search for the victims.

"The scene is very dangerous at the moment, 2 victims are trapped deep inside the rubble. One of them was crushed by concrete and suffered a spinal injury. To ensure the safety of the victim before taking him out, we encouraged and asked a doctor from Binh Thanh district to come to the scene to give first aid and immobilize the victim. After completing the immobilization and ensuring safety, we pulled the victim out safely in a state of quite severe spinal injury," Mr. Thuan informed.

According to Major Thuan, the second victim had his leg crushed by concrete, making it very difficult to get him out. Rescue forces had to use a machine to cut the surrounding concrete, and after much effort, they were able to get the last victim out with a broken leg.

The entire four-story house collapsed completely.

Major Huynh Nguyen Thuan said that during this rescue operation, from the beginning, the unit had accurate information on how many victims there were and whether they were alive or not to deploy a rescue plan.

"Fortunately, when we arrived at the scene, the victim was still conscious, so when we shouted "where are you?" the victim responded immediately. Therefore, we were able to immediately determine the location of the trapped victim to rescue him in time," said a representative of PC07.

The Deputy Head of the Fire Fighting and Rescue Team also said that the rescue process is still difficult because the building can collapse further and the gas tanks cannot be ruled out from exploding at any time. Therefore, when implementing the plan, the Fire Fighting and Rescue Team must use additional specialized tools to prevent fire and explosion.

Rescued 7 people in the 4-storey house collapse in Ho Chi Minh City . The 4-storey house in alley 133, Binh Quoi Street, Binh Thanh District (Ho Chi Minh City) suddenly collapsed. Rescue forces were able to pull 7 people out of the rubble.

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