Three workers died in a hydroelectric tunnel in Lai Chau.
During the construction of the Nam Cuoi 1 hydroelectric tunnel (Nam Nhun district, Lai Chau province), three workers died from asphyxiation.
On July 12th, the Lai Chau Provincial Police are investigating the deaths of three workers in the Nam Cuoi 1 hydropower tunnel (Nam Nhun district) due to asphyxiation.
Earlier, at around 0:00 on July 11th, three workers, Vu To S. (41 years old), Thao A T. (38 years old), and Phung Lao U. (31 years old), entered the Nam Cuoi 1 hydroelectric tunnel to transport materials at a location 1.2km from the tunnel entrance when they were overcome by gas fumes.
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Rescue workers are present at the scene of the incident. Photo: CACC
Upon receiving the report, Colonel Nguyen Viet Giang, Director of the Lai Chau Provincial Police, directed units to approach the scene and coordinate with the Nam Nhun District People's Committee to carry out rescue and relief measures.
By 8:30 AM, authorities had reached the scene at the tunnel entrance and began surveying and assessing the area where the incident occurred.
Subsequently, a reconnaissance team, equipped with specialized protective gear, moved into the tunnel area to search for the victims. At 10:32 AM, the team reached the victims more than 1.1 km from the tunnel entrance, including two victims in the excavator's cabin.
The reconnaissance team was ordered to withdraw from the tunnel area and report for direct instructions from the provincial leadership.
.png "Three workers died in a hydroelectric tunnel in Lai Chau.")
A rescue team enters the tunnel to search for victims. Photo: CACC
Upon receiving the information, Colonel Le Anh Hung, Deputy Director of the Lai Chau Provincial Police (directly at the scene), dispatched a task force of 16 officers and soldiers from the Fire Prevention and Rescue Department to coordinate with the Provincial People's Procuracy, the Office of the Criminal Investigation Agency, the Criminal Police Department, the Forensic Technical Department, and the Nam Nhun District Police, using specialized protective equipment, to move into the area where the victims were located to conduct a scene investigation.
By 12:45 PM, the scene investigation was complete, and the forces removed the three bodies from the tunnel and handed them over to the relevant authorities for further investigation.
After completing the initial investigation, authorities handed over the three bodies to the victims' families on July 11th.
According to the Lai Chau Provincial Electronic Information Portal, the Nam Cuoi 1 hydropower project is located on the Nam Cuoi stream in Nam Hang, Hua Bum, and Nam Pi communes (Nam Nhun district). The project owner is Nam Cuoi 1 Hydropower Joint Stock Company. The Nam Cuoi 1 hydropower project has an installed capacity of 19MW.
