[Video/Photos] Police Search for Missing Persons, Railway Traffic Disrupted After Bien Hoa Bridge Crash

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March 20, 2016

Police are still searching for missing persons after a Bien Hoa bridge collapsed over the Dong Nai River this morning.

According to VnExpress, a barge struck the foundation of Ghenh Bridge around 11:30am. The impact of the collision sent two bridge spans into the water and several motorists along with them.

"We heard a huge noise from the river, turned around and saw a piece of the bridge fall into the water," one bystander told VnExpress shortly after the collapse. "There were two people who went down beneath it but they were saved already."

As of 1:30pm, Tuoi Tre confirmed that three motorists had survived the fall, while local hospitals reported no incoming patients from the incident.

However divers and rescue personnel are still scouring the area, as the barge involved in the collision has capsized. Dozens of police and local civilians were mobilized to search for additional missing persons in the river. Though it is believed all motorists who on the bridge at the time of the collision are accounted for, authorities remain unsure of whether additional missing persons are still aboard the capsized barge.

In addition to road traffic, Ghenh Bridge is also a part of Vietnam's North-South railway line. No trains were passing over the bridge during the time of its collapse, however the incident has forced all Saigon-bound trains to stop in Bien Hoa. General Director of the Vietnam Railway Corporation Doan Duy Hoach told VnExpress that all train traffic has halted south of Binh Duong's Di An Station. The company is currently seeking alternative means of transportation to the southern hub for passengers stranded in Bien Hoa.

While no casualties have been reported, repairs on the structure will take some time.

According to many sources, the 223-meter Ghenh Bridge was built at the turn of the 20^th century by French architect Gustav Eiffel. However, "Eiffel resigned from his company in disgrace in 1893 after being accused of financial irregularities surrounding the first Panama Canal project, after that his company had nothing more to do with him and changed its name to Société Levallois-Perret. It was that company, not Eiffel, who built the Ghenh bridge," historian Tim Doling told Saigoneer.

Deputy Ministry of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong and the ministry's Department of Road Safety director are flying down to Bien Hoa this afternoon to assist in the aftermath of the incident. Bien Hoa officials are already discussing the possibility of building a temporary structure while Ghenh Bridge is under repair. At best, the reconstruction of the damaged bridge spans is expected to take several weeks to a month.