Six killed after truck falls off cliff

Huynh Duc Nguyen, 39, was driving a 16-ton truck carrying cassava in Dak Doa District down a slope at around 1 a.m.. The truck then hit a talus and fell off a cliff, authorities said.

At the scene, the truck lay on its side and was heavily damaged. Nine people were on the truck at the time: six were killed including the driver, and three were injured. All the victims in the accident were male.

Guem, 23, a survivor, was hospitalized at the Gia Lai General Hospital and had his bones broken along with multiple injuries on his body. He said the accident happened while he was asleep, and he only woke up when the impact hit.

Guu, 21, another survivor, said he was still in shock following the accident.

“When I was taken to the hospital, I couldn’t believe I was still alive,” he said.

The truck, which was manufactured in 2014, was only supposed to carry up to two people, including the driver, according to the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam. Final records on the truck revealed that it was running at 54 kph at around 12:53 a.m.

Nguyen had a driver license and was qualified to drive trucks weighing from 3.5 tons and up.