Be alert: Death traps in HCMC!
Monday, October 27, 2014, 18:06 GMT+7
The manhole system in Ho Chi Minh City is seriously downgrading, leaving wide holes on major roads that now constitute death traps to motorists and pedestrians alike.
Last week, a mid-sized truck transporting ice tumbled down an open manhole and toppled onto a 43-year-old woman selling helmets and hats on a sidewalk of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in front of Saigon Zoo in District 1, killing her on the spot.
A number of manhole lids on a section stretching from Go Dua flyover to Binh Trieu intersection in Thu Duc District have sunk from five to ten centimeters from the ground.
Nguyen Dinh Hau, a local barber, pointed to a manhole under the Go Dua flyover, saying that a woman fell to the ground after her bike got stuck in its hole following a heavy downpour on October 14.
Badly damaged manholes have also been detected on Binh Thanh District’s Dinh Bo Linh Street, at the intersection of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Nguyen Binh Khiem Streets in District 1, and the intersection of Dinh Bo Linh and Nguyen Xi Streets in Binh Thanh District.
Phan Van Vinh, who lives close to the crossroads of Dinh Bo Linh and Nguyen Xi Streets, said traffic accidents often occur at the crossroads. He explained that motorists often crash into each other after managing to avoid manhole covers.
Wide open manholes also cause dangers to pedestrians. Do Phi Cong, a third-year student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport in Binh Thanh District, is a recent victim. “Although I successfully avoided the first open manhole cover, I fell victim to the adjacent one,” Cong said.
Le Quyet Thang, a local transport official, said his agency has sent documents requiring more than 20 agencies involved to check and deal with downgraded manholes and required them to be held responsible for any traffic accidents associated with manholes. However, Thang admitted that no progress has been made so far.
Thang also blamed rampant road digging works for creating deadly manholes.
Another official from the HCMC Department of Transport admitted that the downgrading of manholes is now not under control because there are no penalties for those responsible.
