The detainees are 62-year-old Phan The Thuong from Ho Chi Minh City, owner of the towboat which caused the March 20 accident, and 30-year-old Tran Van Giang, residing in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, who was at the towboat’s wheel when it crashed into the bridge.

An order was also issued to take the two men into custody for four months to serve the investigation into “violations of regulations on navigation in waterways” stipulated in Article 212 of the Criminal Code.According to initial investigation, Thuong asked Giang who has no boat-pilot’s licence to steer the towboat coded SG-3745, which was towing a barge with a plate number of SG-5984 carrying 800 tonnes of sand from the western region to Dong Nai.
However, the towboat’s engine stopped working when it came near the Ghenh Bridge. Due to a strong current, Giang could not steer the towboat, resulting in the barge hitting the bridge. Two spans of the bridge collapsed after the crash.Giang and Nguyen Van Le, another person aboard, jumped into the river and were rescued by nearby fishing boats. They fled to SocTrang afterwards.The Ghenh bridge was built by the French in the 1900s during the colonial period and has been used for both railway and land transportation.As the bridge is on the North-South railway route, rail services have been interrupted. Trains on the route must now stop at Bien Hoa Station.To support passengers travelling between Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, HCM City’s transport sector has increased bus services between SaiGon Station to Bien Hoa.