Humanity on Lo Xo Pass

Photo caption — Lieutenant Colonel Duong Van Khoi, Deputy Head of the Quang Ngai Provincial Traffic Police Department (yellow jacket) gives water to the police on duty on the pass. Photo: Du Toan/VNA

Using food delivery technology

At the scene, this afternoon, landslides on Lo Xo Pass were still occurring. The rain continued, the water continued to flow rapidly, bringing soil and rocks from the slope down to the road. Along the route, every 100-200 meters there were other large and small landslides.

As the person who directly provided food and water at noon, a representative of the Traffic Police (Quang Ngai Provincial Police) said: To get through the landslide at the starting point from Quang Ngai to Da Nang , people had to wade through mud up to their knees, making it very difficult to move. The road was windy, and landslides were still occurring here, so it was very dangerous.

Faced with the above situation, the SOS Lo Xo Pass team went on social media to call for support from volunteers in surrounding areas to join hands with the authorities and functional forces to support the trapped people. After the above call, a number of volunteers in the vicinity of Lo Xo Pass responded, directly going to the scene, coordinating with the functional forces in providing food and drinks to the trapped people.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Vu, a member of the SOS team, said: The SOS team has 10 members participating in the rescue on Lo Xo Pass. After we called, volunteer teams from Ngoc Hoi district (old) came to support, bringing drones to transport food and drinks to people trapped in the middle of the pass. "I received information from the local government calling on people with drones to support the landslide on Lo Xo Pass, so I brought a drone, a generator and 3 batteries" - Mr. Mai Hai Ninh in Bo Y commune said.

To ensure the safety of the equipment, each time the members fly, they change the batteries to ensure the safety of the device and food, avoiding the situation of not landing or running out of battery. At 4 p.m., the first lunch boxes "flew" over the landslide to reach the scene. When the food landed, volunteers on the other side of the landslide would notify the drivers via social media, those who were nearby could come and pick it up. Those who were far away and could not come and pick it up, the volunteer team members would walk to bring it to them, in which, the farthest point was about 5 km.

Mr. Dang Van Thuong, a driver on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, said: I drove from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, but when I passed Lo Xo Pass, I got stuck there for 3 days. However, thanks to the support of the Traffic Police and the Lo Xo Pass SOS team, we have had enough food, water, and necessities these past few days. We are really happy.

Mr. Tran Vo Anh Hoang, a watermelon driver from Gia Lai to Hanoi, also said that during the days he was stuck, the traffic police and SOS team enthusiastically helped, so even though he was stuck on the pass and in the rainy weather, their kindness warmed everyone's hearts.

However, after the first flight went smoothly, the second flight had an accident, nearly 30 lunch boxes and drinks fell in the middle of the flight. "During the flight, we encountered a high voltage line overhead, making it difficult to fly. In addition, due to strong winds, the heavy box broke the hook connecting the food box and the aircraft, causing the food to fall," added Mai Hai Ninh. After waiting for favorable weather with less wind, the members continued to use the aircraft to deliver food to the other side of the landslide.

Overnight fix

Faced with the current landslide situation showing no signs of stopping, authorities are determined to clear the route as soon as possible.

Present at the scene, Mr. Ninh Manh Dinh, Director of Kon Tum Bridge and Road Construction Joint Stock Company, said: Currently, there are many landslides on Lo Xo Pass, including 5 serious landslides, each landslide is about 500 - 600 meters long. Each point has about 20,000 - 30,000 cubic meters of landslides. The rain has been continuous for the past two days, making the repair very difficult. The unit, requested by the Road Management Department III, has mobilized all machinery and human resources, working 24/24 hours to ensure the road is cleared as soon as possible. By the end of this afternoon, the small points have been basically fixed. The large points are being fixed. We strive to clear a stretch of road by the afternoon of October 29, temporarily clearing it for traffic. If it rains heavily and the rocks and soil continue to slide, we will continue to mobilize maximum machinery and equipment to quickly clear the route. We always have someone standing guard over landslides to ensure your safety while working.

To assist in overcoming landslides at night, the authorities, in addition to turning on the lights, also assigned people to warn of landslides from the slope to ensure the safety of workers on duty. All for the purpose of clearing the route as soon as possible.

Mr. Nguyen Quang, Commander of the Ho Chi Minh Road Flood Repair Project (Kon Tum Road Repair Management Company) said: We will try to overcome the difficulties to clear the route as soon as possible. That is an order from the heart.

At 6 p.m., the repair work on Lo Xo Pass was still ongoing. Authorities had mobilized more excavators and loaders to the scene to try to race against the weather to temporarily clear a lane to help vehicles stuck on the pass turn around and return to Quang Ngai.

Previously, on the afternoon of October 27, VNA published an article titled "Lo Xo Pass landslide, dozens of people trapped in the middle of the pass" reflecting the serious landslide on Lo Xo Pass through Dak Plo Commune (Quang Ngai). The landslide trapped 40 vehicles and about 70 people in the middle of Lo Xo Pass.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/nguoi-tot-viec-tot/tinh-nguoi-tren-deo-lo-xo-20251028200320601.htm