Vietnam’s Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang walked down a valley in the northern province of Lao Cai on Tuesday to examine the scene of an accident in which a sleeper bus fell into the abyss after colliding with a car one day earlier, killing at least 12 people.   Minister Thang asked rescuers to continue searching for survivors and those still trapped under the debris of the badly damaged double-decker bus. He also suggested using police dogs in the search and rescue mission.   

Police will soon launch a full probe into the accident and those responsible will face penalties, Thang said.

A team from the Ministry of Health led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long and a group of doctors from Viet Duc Hospital, located in Hanoi, are in Lao Cai to support the provincial general hospital in treating the injured.

On Monday evening, a sleeper bus owned by the Sao Mai transport firm carrying 53 people collided with a car and then fell into an abyss in Lao Cai, leaving at least 12 people dead and 41 others injured.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper has sent reporters to the scene to check if there was any foreigner on the bus, as it traveled on a route frequently used by international visitors to Vietnam.

At about 6:30 pm, the double-decker bus was running on National Highway 4D in Bat Xat District, about 15km from Sa Pa town, when it hit a four-seater car. The bus had earlier departed from Sa Pa, a popular tourist destination in the north.

After the collision, the bus dropped into a 200-meter deep valley while the car with two passengers inside only sustained damage to its front end.

The crash killed one bus passenger instantly while injuring the other 52 people. All of those injured were taken to Lao Cai General Hospital, but 11 of them died on the way, said Khuat Viet Hung, deputy head of the National Traffic Safety Committee.

Police have examined the scene of the accident and an initial investigation showed that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle and caused the accident, said Colonel Nguyen Thien Tuan, from the provincial Traffic Police Department.

The bus is designed to have 46 sleeper seats and a sitting seat, but it was transporting 53 people, including two drivers and a driver’s assistant, at the time of the accident.

Transport Minister Dinh La Thang, who wears a green pith helmet, is seen climbing down to the bus crash site in Lao Cai Province on September 2, 2014.

Transport Minister Dinh La Thang, who wears a green pith helmet, is seen climbing down to the bus crash site in Lao Cai Province on September 2, 2014.

Transport Minister Dinh La Thang directs the rescue mission at the bus crash site in Lao Cai Province on September 2, 2014.

The rescue activities have faced many difficulties due to bad weather.

Transport Minister Dinh La Thang (3rd from L) and leaders of the Ministry of Health and Lao Cai authorities visit the injured of the bus crash at Lao Cai General Hospital.

Transport Minister Dinh La Thang and other officials are pictured at the bus crash site in Lao Cai Province on September 2, 2014.

Authorities examine the bus crash site in Lao Cai Province on September 2, 2014.

The badly damaged bus

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