Reconstruction and "revival" of Dong Dang-Tra Linh project after the flood

During the peak period of the “100-day and night campaign to open the first phase of the Dong Dang-Tra Linh project”, a terrible flash flood struck on the evening of September 29, sweeping away the dining hall which was the common living area of ​​the Project Management Board’s staff. The flood came so suddenly, leaving behind so much pain and loss.

Overcoming natural disasters and pain, the workers at the Dong Dang-Tra Linh expressway project soon entered the reconstruction process, returning to the normal construction pace.

Nearly a week has passed since the flood, the rain has stopped, the sky is blue and the sun is shining again. Recovering from the pain, the bustling construction rhythm of the reconstruction is a strong affirmation of the will to overcome adversity of the "Deo Ca people".

Memories of the fateful night

The house of the Dong Dang-Tra Linh Expressway Project Management Board is located in a high, spacious location next to a small stream, in the middle of lush green mountains and forests in Duc Long Commune ( Cao Bang ). No one could have imagined that the gentle stream that had long been watering the project's lush vegetable garden would turn into a muddy, ferocious flood on that fateful night.

The flash flood passed in less than 30 minutes. Nearly 200 people worked together to support it, ropes and tires were thrown down, and the hands of comrades saved many lives that were hanging between life and death. However, unlike many other colleagues, 3 young officers were swept away, leaving behind an endless sorrow for those who remained.

Engineer Le Trong Tan, Deputy Head of the Engineering Department of the Mechanical Enterprise, recounted the life-and-death moments before the fierce flood on the evening of September 29.

With tightly knitted eyebrows on his dark, haggard face, engineer Le Trong Tan, Deputy Head of the Mechanical Enterprise's Technical Department, seemed to be trying to hold back the tears that were about to fall. That day, in the Executive Board area, there was heavy rain due to the influence of storm No. 10. At around 7:30 p.m., as usual, after dinner, everyone in the Executive Board sat drinking water and chatting over a pot of tea. There was not a single strange noise or unusual sign in the solid housing area. Suddenly, everyone heard a scream from the kitchen: "Water! Water!".

“Hearing the screams, I thought someone had been electrocuted, so I ran out. As soon as I got to the kitchen, I heard the sound of rushing water. I rushed to the rooms, knocked on the doors, and called for my brothers to run away from the flood. Only about 1 minute later, the water had swept away all the furniture to room 6 at the far end. I quickly clung to the base of the lightning rod just a few meters away from the row of rooms, along with Nguyen Viet Truong, a laboratory specialist. The flood water was only up to my chest, but it was flowing so fast that I felt like I could be swept away like a leaf,” said Mr. Tan.

During the flood, the two brothers encouraged each other to try their best while waiting for the other to throw a rescue rope. But a few minutes later, Truong said to Tan: "Brother, I'm so tired", then let go and the water quickly swept Truong away into the dark night while Tan was helpless. At that time, if Tan had loosened his grip just a little bit, he would have lost the chance to see his family and colleagues again.

The devastated scene of the Dong Dang-Tra Linh Project Management Board's housing area after the flood.

Seeing Mr. Tan struggling with death, Mr. Tran Van Quan, the detonation commander, who was standing safely in the upper yard of the building, bravely hugged the tire and waded into the rushing water, threw a rope towards Mr. Tan and together with his comrades pulled him to shore. If it had been just a few minutes later, Mr. Tan might not have been able to hold on in the rushing water. When his comrades pulled him to safety, they discovered that his legs were covered with deep cuts from being hit by objects and furniture, and he had lost a lot of blood.

The memory of that fateful night still haunts Mr. Pham Duc Viet, Deputy Director of the Project Management Board. After shouting, Mr. Viet rushed to the kitchen, stunned by the rushing water. He quickly ran into room number 7, pulled Mr. Dung, who was stuck in a pile of furniture, out through the window. After that, he continued to rescue Long, who was panicking because his hand was stuck in the door frame. He risked his life by jumping into the water to push Long out.

The most haunting case was that of Dinh Thi Thu Hai. She could not swim, was swept away by the flood to room number 7, and a heavy object crushed her leg. She screamed: “Anh Viet, save me!” With one hand, he held on to the door, with the other hand, he grabbed Ms. Hai’s hand, but the violent flood swept them both out. Mr. Viet was lucky to catch a tire in the strong current, but Ms. Hai was let go of her hand and swept away by the water.

Forces and units deployed to search for victims.

In the following days, all resources of the entire Deo Ca Group were focused on Cao Bang. For 3 days and nights, the Group's leadership and project enterprises, along with a large number of workers, hardly slept to carry out search and rescue, with the coordination and support from the Vietnam Road Administration, the Provincial Party Committee and the People's Committee of Cao Bang Province, the Cao Bang Provincial Military Command, the rescue forces of the Cao Bang Provincial Police and Lang Son Province. Along the stream banks and forests, the forces strained to search for the whereabouts of the 3 victims, the determination to bring the victims back to their hometown became stronger than ever.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, General Director of Deo Ca Group, said that the passing of 3 officers and employees at the Dong Dang-Tra Linh Expressway project was a huge loss. These were young, promising personnel who were being trained in combat at the project. As soon as he received the information, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Deo Ca Group directly directed the Executive Board to be present at the scene that night to share with the families, proactively deploy plans to search for the missing victims using all resources and in coordination with local authorities.

At 8:10 a.m. on October 1, Tu was found. At 5:15 p.m. the same day, Truong was found. On the third day, everyone was worried when they heard that another storm was about to hit. At 9:00 a.m. on October 2, everyone was focused on searching on the stream bank nearly three kilometers from the Executive Board, everyone shouted: "We found them! We found Ms. Hai!". So after 3 days and nights with the participation of the forces, the search for the three victims ended. Their funerals were held properly in their hometowns.

The small stream next to the Project Management Board, which was originally gentle, suddenly turned into a raging flood.

Staying up all night to search for the victims, Mr. Pham Duy Hieu, General Contractor Director of the Executive Board, lost his voice when mentioning female engineer Dinh Thi Thu Hai: “Among the 3 victims, Hai is the only woman, also the first 'female general of the construction site' of Deo Ca, diligent, enterprising, and capable. Hai has just been assigned the position of Deputy Director of the Executive Board of the project phase II”.

Overcoming pain, rebuilding a new rhythm of life

As a key project with the mission of connecting the revolutionary homeland of Cao Bang with the capital Hanoi , the Dong Dang-Tra Linh expressway has always received the attention of Party and State leaders and is considered by more than 3,000 cadres, engineers and project workers to complete phase I by the end of this year as "a command of the heart". Overcoming the challenges of natural disasters and geology in the area, construction units still strive to stay on the construction site, increase human resources and machinery, flexibly adjust the construction sequence and ensure quality to maintain the goal of shortening the progress and opening the route in 2025 (the initial completion progress according to the contract is December 31, 2026).

The Project Management Board building is still in disarray after the flood.

The consequences of the flash flood on the evening of September 29 with the passing of engineer Dinh Thi Thu Hai, along with two young officers Nguyen Viet Truong and Ly Le Anh Tu not only left a mental loss for their colleagues, but also left professional gaps because they were all quality officers at the project, highly appreciated for their abilities. Truong and Tu were just officially recruited after a probationary period, both graduated from the University of Transport. After the probationary period, Truong was assigned to the laboratory, supporting internal records, while Tu was transferred to the Technical Planning Department, in charge of quality management.

Direct managers commented that after the period of "real-life" training, both Truong and Tu have proven their professional skills and quickly integrated into the project environment, not afraid of hardship. "The departure of promising personnel like Truong and Tu is a great loss for the project. Both of you were 'targeted' as source staff in the professional department," said Mr. Pham Dinh Duc, Head of the laboratory at the Dong Dang-Tra Linh project sadly.

Having overcome natural disasters and pain, it is now time for the workers at the Dong Dang-Tra Linh Expressway project to begin the reconstruction process. In what used to be the dormitory for the Project Management Board’s staff, a group of workers are urgently cleaning up the scene. Under their feet are scattered blankets, pillows, beds, cabinets, household items, rocks, and dry branches and leaves.

The faint scent of incense sticks quickly lit dispels the coldness left behind by the flood, making people "crave" the cozy, bustling atmosphere of what used to be a hot kitchen and a warm common living area for nearly 100 officers and employees.

At the office building, staff from different departments were also moving tables, chairs, documents, and stationery to the vehicles. The project company's management board decided to temporarily relocate the workers to Dong Khe town to stabilize their spirits and return to work soon.

Despite the hardships and the heavy workload of the project and the reconstruction process that is being placed on their shoulders, they do not hesitate or complain, because they understand that they themselves have the responsibility to take on the work, so as not to let down the efforts and sacrifices of those who have passed away.

The physical and mental wounds are hard to heal, but the collective of workers at the Dong Dang-Tra Linh Project Management Board, which is like a family, has become even more united after the incident.

On the project's construction sites stretching hundreds of kilometers, the sound of machines resounded again.

After a series of gloomy days, the sun has begun to spread gold across the yard in front of the Executive Board. Engineer Le Trong Tan, with his legs wrapped in white bandages, still limped back to the housing area, and together with his colleagues, collected some items that could still be used, although there was not much left. When asked if he would return to his hometown to recuperate for a few days after the flood, the engineer from Thanh Hoa firmly said: “No! I have to stay. The construction site is in disarray, I will stay and fight with my brothers!”

On the project's construction sites stretching hundreds of kilometers, the sound of machines resounded again. Burying the loss, using that as motivation, each group of cadres, engineers, and workers urgently started working, bringing with them a breath of life to the country's new highway that was gradually taking shape.

TRANG LIEN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tai-thiet-hoi-sinh-du-an-dong-dang-tra-linh-sau-lu-du-post912930.html