A car accident in Laos in China travel group: The car smells burnt and smelly from the car on the steep slope at the scene of the incident

After the incident, the vehicle in the accident was straightened and the vehicle body was seriously damaged.

The seat inside the vehicle was broken and fell off during the accident.

The tourist bus landed a cliff dozens of meters high, and the front of the car was seriously deformed. Photography of A12-A13 (except for signature)/ Beijing News reporter Zhu Bisheng

Local caring people spontaneously went to the hospital to donate blood. Photo provided by the interviewee

Scan the QR code to watch our video " Laos A woman in a car accident was rescued by her husband: many compatriots can't go back."

carries a Chinese tourist bus crashing into a cliff in Laos, 13 people died and 31 people were injured; the police initially determined that it was caused by vehicle problems

This is a curve over 90 degrees, and the ruts on the road are clearly visible. Some ruts record the vehicle's driving trajectory, extending along the mountain road to the ancient capital of Laos, Luang Prabang, , but some other ruts go straight to the cliff in an inconsistent manner.

Tens of meters below the mountain, the white and green tourist buses are still covered with mud.

At around 4 pm local time on August 19, local time, the tourist bus carrying 44 Chinese citizens was driving from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to Luang Prabang, where it rolled down a cliff and overturned, killing 13 people and injuring 31 people. According to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of the evening of August 21, 20 seriously injured were sent to Vientiane for treatment, and the remaining 11 minor injured remained in local hospitals.

Several passengers confirmed to the Beijing News reporter that they had smelled the burnt smell before the incident. Yuan Fang (pseudonym), sitting in the third row, heard the local tour guide saying, "There may be something happening below, everyone should tie the seat belt." Before he finished speaking, the car swayed left and right and rolled down the mountain. Zhang Lan (pseudonym), who was sitting in more than a dozen rows, recalled that she smelled the burnt smell and was only a few minutes before she could overturn the car.

The incident

appeared before the overturn of the stinking

This is an individual customer group buying.

Li Kuoshan, general manager of Jiangsu Jinling Business International Travel Agency, introduced in an interview with the media that this group is a tourist received by its Nanjing Jiangning store, mostly in its fifties and sixties.

Yuan Fang is 76 years old this year and is an old customer of this travel agency. She has been to more than 10 countries. This time, she and her friends signed up for an 8-day trip to Laos. The group arrived in Laos on the afternoon of August 17 and set off from Vientiane at 8 am on August 19 to Luang Prabang.

Everything was as usual on the way. I had a short rest at the small attractions and had lunch. The driver added water to the car. The downhill road is steep, and the tour guide reminds you to wear your seat belt many times.

abnormality appeared in the afternoon. Yuan Fang smelled a burnt odor: "The smell was not heavy at the beginning, but it became heavier and heavier later." During this time, someone asked: This car is not right, how can it smell so big? Zhang Lan, who was sitting in more than a dozen rows, was the first to shout to the tour guide: "Is the friction too much? My first reaction was this."

Yuan Fang remembered that the driver told everyone through the local tour guide, saying that it was the smell of the brake pad rubbing on the way downhill: "Tell us not to be nervous."

The local tour guide is a Lao girl Duda (sound), who has just graduated not long ago, from the Southeast Laos International Travel Agency . Zhan Baolin, executive director of the Luang Prabang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, who participated in the rescue and aftermath, introduced that this is a legal company run by Chinese people locally and has been in operation for three or four years. Duda is a certified tour guide. Another colleague Qian Duoduo (nickname), who is from Chinese and her husband, started working as a tour guide in the local area two years ago.

Duda later admitted that she had smelled the burnt smell, but she thought it was normal: "I have smelled it when I led the group down the mountain before." Qian Duoduo, who had more experience, found a problem. He reminded the passengers, "There may be some situation below, everyone should tie the seat belt."

Yuan Fang recalled that the tour guide said three times: "The voice has not yet fallen, the car swayed left and right, and then rolled down the mountain." The sound of falling was louder than the firecrackers, and the car was in a mess: "There are everything that screamed."

Tourist Jin Minghua fell into a coma. Afterwards, he heard from his wife in the same car that the car rushed down the cliff like flying in the woods. When it was about to land, it turned over twice, and then fell into the valley with the front of the car facing down.

car fell into the mud and completely overturned. At that time, the predecessor of the car was still a little smoked, and Zhang Lan was worried that it would explode. But her legs were pressed and she couldn't move. She looked back at her grandson in the back row and saw that her face and legs were scratched by glass. She was still awake and shouted, "Grandma, run quickly, run quickly.""And the 72-year-old sister-in-law sitting on her right had no movement at all.

Yuan Fang broke two ribs. After coming out of the car, she found that her bag was still hanging around her neck. She immediately notified the travel agency: "Call the embassy quickly. Something big happened here and the car was overturned. "Another people walked to the side of the road and asked for help in simple English. Medical personnel near

arrived first, and the injured were sent to the hospital one after another. Zhang Lan had a lumbar fracture and her daughter's leg was injured. Fortunately, her 9-year-old grandson was not seriously injured, but she cried as soon as she saw her. Although the

tour bus was straightened, the seriousness of the accident could still be seen. On the afternoon of August 21, a reporter from the Beijing News saw at the scene that only the frame was left, and the glass had almost fallen off. The most serious deformation was the bumper and near the door, and the soil was still embedded in the gaps of the parts. At the time of the incident, Qian Duoduo was sitting at the entrance, next to the driver's seat, without a seat belt. He unfortunately died in the accident. The inside of the

car was also messy, and some seats were out of shackles and squeezed with the front seats. In the net pocket behind a seat next to the window, A torn plastic bag containing snacks with Chinese printed on it.

Rescue

If you can do it, you can do it.

Beijing News reporter learned that local Laos who passed by the scene were the first to participate in the rescue. Immediately afterwards, the Lao government sent soldiers, public security, and traffic police teams, and the Chinese Embassy in Laos and the Consulate General in Luang Prabang were established. After the emergency team, the third China Hydropower Bureau and South Korea's search and rescue teams also arrived one after another, and hundreds of rescue personnel gathered at the scene of the car accident. The window was smashed open, and the less injured tourists were pulled out of the ruins; tourists also began to rescue each other; the crane pulled up the bus, and the excavator searched for traces of life in the soil and bushes.

At the same time, the phone number of Liu Lijian, director of the Zhonglao International Hospital, rang endlessly. There was a consulate Some people called local people, and some were called by the county hospital where the car accident was located and the county Red Cross. The languages ​​of different countries pointed to the same information: something happened in a Chinese bus, and something happened to the Chinese. More than ten medical staff and four ambulances set off.

stretcher was carried from the bottom of the valley to the highway and then onto the ambulance. Tourists with vital signs were sent to the hospital in batches, with liver rupture, spleen rupture, intestinal rupture, and some people had multiple rib fractures after the impact. By 11 o'clock in the evening, a total of 31 injured people were sent to Luang Prabang Zhonglao International Hospital, Luang Prabang Chinese Hospital and Luang Prabang Provincial Hospital. At around 5 o'clock on the day of the incident, Zhan Baolin learned the news in the local Chinese WeChat group that his chamber of commerce often contacted the Chinese Consulate General in Luang Prabang, and the secretary-general of the chamber of commerce was accompanied by the chamber of commerce afterwards. The staff of the Consulate General led medical staff to the scene.

Zhan Baolin stayed in the rear to coordinate the hospital, and the first stop was Luang Prabang China Hospital. When he arrived at the hospital, the first batch of wounded people had been sent, and three were slightly injured. Later, he learned that the injured in the China-Lao International Hospital was even more serious. The two hospitals were only a few minutes away by car. He drove over and stayed there to coordinate arrangements.

According to Zhan Baolin, the China-Lao International Hospital admitted more than 20 injured people in total. A woman surnamed Wu was already in a coma when she was sent that night. It was initially judged that the liver was ruptured, and the situation was urgent and needed immediate surgery. The family was not at the scene, but she dared not wait any longer. After the director of the China-Lao International Hospital asked the Consulate General, Zhan Baolin witnessed him signing the family's consent form on his behalf: "Human life is at stake, and life-saving is the first priority. "

After examination, Ms. Wu not only had her liver ruptured, but also had a penetrating wound after a violent impact on her abdomen, which was severely bleeding. Zhan Baolin recalled that the attending doctor said the bleeding volume was about 4,500 ml. "According to her physical condition at that time, the blood volume was nearly three-quarters. "The blood bank of

is not in sufficient form AB blood bank, and the blood bank of the Luang Prabang Provincial Hospital in Laos is not enough. After hearing this, the Chinese fellows who came to help immediately took the blood test on site, but the volunteers who matched the blood type could only provide a few hundred milliliters, which is still far from enough. Zhan Baolin and others sought help in various WeChat groups such as hometown exchange groups, industry groups, etc.

still retains this forwarded emergency help message in the circle of friends of Xu Qiang (pseudonym), who runs a restaurant in the local area. The time for delivery was around 1 a.m. on August 20.As the news spread, many caring people took the initiative to go to the hospital to donate blood, including local Lao residents. Early in the morning, the ischemia problem was solved: "The operation was completed and it was relatively successful."

html At around 7 a.m. on August 20, Zhan Baolin, who had been sleeping for more than an hour, got up and started to arrange a new day's work. The injured and the families of the victims rushed to come one after another, and needed to pick up the plane to provide catering and accommodation.

In a WeChat group of more than 10 people, Xu Qiang organized free meal delivery, and restaurants responded to inquiries from time to time. At the beginning, Xu Qiang was worried that the free meal delivery was large, the duration was long, and the ability to withstand limited. As of the evening of August 21, a total of 6 Chinese restaurants have joined the meal delivery plan. "Now, a restaurant is responsible for a meal, one meat and one vegetable, and takes turns to the hospital." The hospital is outside the city and the restaurant is inside the city, and it takes about an hour to deliver food to the meal. But everyone is rushing to deliver food.

Accommodation for the families of the injured is also provided free of charge by the Chinese hotel. On the afternoon of August 20, the hotel operator who went to the airport to pick up domestic travel agency staff said in the group that his hotel could be used to receive the families of the injured. "If you can do your part, you will do your part."

"I dare not say that everyone, at least every family has more than two accompanying staff, some even three or four." Zhan Baolin introduced that a family of grandparents brought their grandsons and granddaughters to travel, but only boys in their 10s were left. The girl who died was only 20 years old and was still in school. Her father had high blood pressure. After learning the news, he was emotional and was once sent to the hospital. Among the injured, the youngest was 9 years old and the oldest was 79 years old.

html In the early morning of August 20, a Chinese medical team that was participating in the "Peace Train-2019" joint exercise and training flew to Luang Prabang for the treatment of the wounded and the transfer of seriously injured people.

After the disaster

Family of the victims arrive

Because Laos has limited conditions, there are only three freezers in the area, and the bodies of the victims can only be put in as a turn, and most of the rest are placed on the ground. The family members cried as they looked at their relatives under the ice.

htmlOn August 22, a company with volunteers donated 6 ice coffins, which will be delivered in the evening.

15-year-old Li Kai (pseudonym) traveled to Laos with his college sister and grandparents during the summer vacation. After the accident, he became the only survivor of the four.

news reached the country, and Li Kai's parents and uncles rushed to Laos together. Before boarding the plane, he received news of the death of three families. Li Kai's uncle, a middle-aged man who lost his parents and daughter, had his hands and feet numb and twitching, and was sent to the rescue room. After arriving in Luang Prabang, he fainted twice in the hotel and hospital.

Li Kai's face was injured and he was waiting for swelling reduction surgery. The teenage boy lay on the hospital bed and kept asking his parents where his grandparents were and where his sister was. In order to give him peace of mind, his parents made excuses: grandpa injured his neck and had to undergo surgery; sister twisted her arm and was undergoing treatment.

Li Kai’s mother hasn’t figured out yet. When and how to tell him the truth.

Reflect on how to ensure safety of

? Public information of

shows that Laos has an area of ​​236,800 square kilometers and a population of about 7 million. Today, tourism is an emerging industry in Laos. Luang Prabang, Wapu Temple in Base County, and Chuan Stone Gang Plain have been listed on the World Cultural Heritage List. Famous attractions include Vientiane Paluan, Jade Buddha Temple, Kampapin Waterfall in Champace, and Guangxi Waterfall in Luang Prabang.

In 2017, Laos received a total of 4.239 million tourists, and in 2018, more than 4.1 million tourists were received, and there were 800,000 Chinese tourists. The top three tourists originated from Thailand, Vietnam and China. This year is the year of tourism in China and Laos. This accident has caused Laos tourism safety to fall into a whirlpool of public opinion.

things happened on local Highway 4. Several local Chinese confirmed to the Beijing News reporter that this road has many steep slopes. Xu Qiang has been here once in 10 years in Laos: "Anyway, the first impression is that it is steep. There is danger of large vehicles brake for a long time or insufficient water."

Chinese people living in Laos have taken this road many times. He introduced that during the rainy season from April to October, road conditions warnings are often issued, and landslides and road interruptions may occur during heavy rains. He was blocked on the road for more than 6 hours due to a landslide.

According to media statistics, in February 2016, a bus riding 20 Korean tourists had a car accident here, and 4 Korean tourists and 1 Lao driver died on the spot. In August 2017, a pickup truck with four Chinese citizens collided with a large truck in Sayaburi, Laos, and two Chinese citizens in the pickup truck died. In January 2018, a car with four people unfortunately fell into the river 18 kilometers away from Luang Prabang, killing two Sichuan Chinese, and injuring one Sichuan Chinese and one Lao Chinese.

In fact, this is not the only road between Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Zhan Baolin introduced that Highway 4 is newly built and has been put into use for about six or seven years. Compared with the previous Highway 13, the distance is about 50 kilometers shortened, and generally the driving distance is between one hour and one and a half hours. When it comes to curves, Route 13 is actually more; but when it comes to slopes, Route 4 is indeed steeper. "Especially during the rainy season, the road surface is slippery and the brake pressure on the big trucks is greater."

html On August 20, the manager of the External Relations Department of Jinling Business International Travel Agency, who organized the tour group, once told the Beijing News reporter that the police initially determined that the accident was caused by a vehicle problem.

Regarding the statement that the car accident is caused by brake problems, on August 22, Zhan Baolin said that this is just a suspicion and the cause of the accident is still under investigation. However, he does not think this can be linked to "prone accidents". He believes that people are prone to looking for other accidents on the road that happened some time ago after an accident. "As for the matter, there were accidents on Highway 13, and there were also car accidents in other places."

Du Xiaochen described that Highway 4 and 13 are similar to mountain roads in China's , Xiangxi , Guizhou and other places. Whether the danger depends on the condition of the car, the driver's driving ability and physical condition. "Under normal circumstances, the conditions for passage are met, mainly because the rainy season will increase uncertainty." In this regard, Zhan Baolin, who is engaged in tourism-related business in the local area, introduced that in order to cope with the local rainy season, he will adjust the tourism model.

After this accident, there were also voices questioning the condition of the car, saying that most of the buses in Laos were used cars and were relatively worn. Zhan Baolin introduced that it is a fact that the cars are relatively old. Since Laos does not have factories that produce buses, most of the vehicles are imported from South Korea, China and other countries, some of which are new cars. Although some of them are used cars, Laos love to be clean and often do maintenance. "Overall, the conditions of these cars are in good condition." The

accident has already had an impact on local travel agencies. At present, most local travel agencies are helping Southeast International travel agencies handle aftermath reception and other work. "This is the first thing we have done right now," said Zhan Baolin. On the evening of August 21, a total of four local travel agencies, including the travel agency he runs, also discussed tourism safety issues during dinner.

"First of all, Laos' hardware is indeed relatively backward." Zhan Baolin admitted this, but he also said that in the future, everyone may inform passengers of the difference between the two roads, so that passengers are mentally prepared for the road they choose, consciously wear seat belts, and supervise the driver to drive carefully, etc. On the other hand, the travel agency may have stricter requirements for the fleet: "I don't know much about other companies. Just our family, the task I assigned to the tour guide is to supervise the driver to check the vehicle condition every morning. You can only try to avoid (car accidents) from your own perspective and ensure safety."

According to local Chinese, the highways and railways from Vientiane to Luang Prabang are currently under planning.

Beijing News reporter Wang Hongchun Zhu Bisheng Wu Rongkui Wang Shuangxing Intern Feng Huiru (Reporter Gao Zhao of Beijing News also contributed to this article)