Rescued more than 350 people trapped on Khanh Le pass due to landslide

At around 8:00 p.m. on December 15, Lam Dong provincial authorities successfully brought nearly 300 people back to Da Lat city after clearing part of the landslide at km59 of Khanh Le pass, in Son Thai commune, Khanh Vinh district, Khanh Hoa province.

Mr. Chu Van An, Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Transport of Khanh Hoa province, gave the above information, adding that Lam Dong province also rescued 13 passenger cars, 1 car, and a group of people returning to Da Lat city that night.

Khanh Hoa provincial authorities also approached the landslide site at km43 and brought nearly 60 people to safety, including many elderly people, women and children.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Tuan, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, was present at the scene and visited and encouraged those trapped and rescued. Mr. Tuan said that the most important task was to bring everyone to safety, which had been accomplished. During the night, the authorities will continue to fix the landslides to soon reopen National Highway 27C.

Of the nearly 60 people rescued by Khanh Hoa province authorities, some showing signs of fatigue will return to Khanh Vinh town (Khanh Vinh district) to rest, while the other group will follow the authorities' vehicles to Nha Trang city.

Earlier, on the morning of December 15, heavy rains for many days caused more than 1,000 cubic meters of rock and soil to fall on Khanh Le Pass at 3 points: km42, km54 and km59. Fortunately, there were no casualties. At that time, Khanh Le Pass was experiencing heavy rain, and the trapped people gathered to take temporary shelter at shrines and small huts on the pass.

Khanh Vinh district authorities walked through the landslide site, bringing food and water to the trapped people, and at the same time notified Lam Dong province authorities to help clear the road and rescue the trapped people.

Khanh Le Pass is about 29km long, on National Highway 27C connecting Khanh Vinh District (Khanh Hoa Province) and Lac Duong District (Lam Dong Province). This is the main route connecting Nha Trang with Da Lat, the top of the pass is up to 1,700m above sea level, with many dangerous curves, where tens of thousands of people and vehicles pass every day.