The military serves as the core force, coordinating with functional units to conduct the search for the victims. The support for survived victims has been promptly implemented to ease their difficulties.
On the second day, the search for missing victims in Nu village was conducted by many teams stretching from the landslide areas to downstream. The problem was that the landslide covered an area of up to 24 hectares, with a length of 1.3km and a width of 200-300m. The functional agencies identified the location of each house on map and made a list of people who were present in their houses at the time of flash floods and landslides.
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Troops of Regiment 98 searching for the missing |
MR2 mobilized 300 officers and soldiers from Regiment 98 of Division 316, 125 troops from the Lao Cai provincial Military Command, 15 vehicles of different kinds to team up with local militiamen and people to conduct search and rescue operations. After the on-site survey, the participating forces carried out large-scale search plans. Local people supported the search teams to find out the location of buried houses by landslides and flash floods.
The border guards used five service dogs and eight handlers from the Border Guard School 24 under the Vietnam Border Guard Command for the search missions.
According to Colonel Hoang Ngoc Sang, Vice Rector of the Border Guard School 24, the muddy terrain mixed with dead fish, livestock, and poultry made it difficult for service dogs to perform the missions. Troops had to remove garbage and obstacles for service dogs to search for missing victims in a more effective manner.
Corporal Ngo Hong Son, Company 6, Battalion 8, Regiment 98, shared that over the past two days, despite the hardships and difficulties, he and his comrades exerted utmost efforts and heightened their determination to search for the missing as soon as possible so that their families could ease their pain.
The severe landslide has claimed the life of 45 people, 50 are still missing. Conducting an on-site inspection in Nu village on September 12, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh encouraged on-duty forces while offering condolences to the survived victims. The PM required functional forces to synchronously deploy many measures and mobilize maximum forces and vehicles for the search missions; inquire after and implement policies for families with deceased and injured people; and provide enough food, medicines, fresh water, and other necessities for people to help them soon resume their normal life.
The local Party Committee, authorities, and armed forces have focused on overcoming the consequences caused by the landslides to ease people’s difficulties. Along with conducting searches for victims, they have also inquired after and supported families with deceased and injured people. Initially, Lao Cai province has provided financial support, worth VND 25 million per dead and VND 5 million per injured for the victims’ families. MR2 has also contributed VND 100 million and necessities for them. Meanwhile, a larger number of units, enterprises, and individuals have sent donations through the Party Committees, authorities, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of localities.
Translated by Quynh Oanh