Vietnam: Addressing the consequences of railway accidents involving fatalities

Specifically, according to Article 25 of Circular No. 23/2018/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, consequences of railway accidents involving fatalities shall be addressed as follows:

- Upon occurrence of a railway accident involving fatalities, the train operator or safety staff (if the accident occurs within a section) or staff serving train running (if the accident occurs within a station) must take initial action to address the consequences.

- Procedures:

+ The safety staff shall stay at the scene to guard the victims and protect their property until they are transferred to the competent authority for further actions;

+ If the location where a dead person lies obstructs the train operation, the safety staff shall mark or determine such a location (with indication in the accident record) and bring him/her off that location for the train to continue running.

+ If the accident occurs while there is solely one train operator on board, the train operator may have railway workers on duty at or near to the scene to guard the victims and protect their property;

+ If it is impossible to comply with Point c hereof, the train operator shall contact the staff serving train running at the nearest station to have someone come to the scene to guard the victims and protect their property. While awaiting staff serving train running at the station to come and guard the victims and their property, the train operator must perform such duty himself/herself.

- If a person dies on the train, the train operator or safety staff shall bring the body down to the nearest station, follow the procedures and transfer him/her to the staff serving training running for further actions.

- If there is a dead person involved in a railway accident within the train station or brought off a train, the staff serving train running shall guard him/her and protect his/her property and cooperate with the police authority and other specialized agencies for further actions.

- Procedures for burial of victims:

+ If the dead person has relative(s) in company, the staff serving train running and victim’s relatives shall collaborate with the People’s Committee of commune or police authority where the accident takes place to follow burial procedures as per the law;

+ If the dead person has unknown whereabouts or no relatives, the staff serving train running and victim’s relatives shall collaborate with the People’s Committee of commune or police authority where the accident takes place to follow burial procedures as prescribed in Clause 4 Article 44 of the Law on Railway of Vietnam;

+ If the dead person is a foreigner, the staff serving train running shall cooperate with the police or local government in reporting it to the police authority of province for further actions.

- The documentation recording the burial shall be made as per the law.

- If the Chairperson of rescue body or the person in charge assume the prime responsibility for dealing with the accident at the scene (if the staff serving train running is not responsible for such accident), the staff serving train running shall submit reports and take action against consequences related to the dead person under direction of the Chairperson of rescue body or the person in charge.

View more: Circular No. 23/2018/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam takes effect from July 01, 2018.

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