One more death sinkhole appears in district 3

On Nov, 12 a hole suddenly appeared in District 3 Ho Chi Minh City, causing traffic jams.

Many traffic means in fell in a hole in Truong Dinh Street in front of the house number 16/26 of ward 9, district 3.  This caused a long line of vehicles as they had to stop one after one on the road. The hole was measured at 1m in diameter, 2m in depth.  

According to the HCMC Transport Department, nearly 30 sinkholes emerged in the city recently.

These sinkholes were usually seen on roads where sewers had just been installed as part of the massive sewerage, environment and urban improvement projects, including Hai Ba Trung, Le Van Sy, Pham Van Hai, Nguyen Kiem, Au Co, No Trang Long, Nguyen Van Dau and Xo Viet Nghe Tinh streets. After inspection, the department’s Traffic Infrastructure Management Office attributed sinkholes to improper technical works that caused junctions between sewers open, and thus the water leaked out, forming sinkholes underneath the roads.

So far, the city has installed nearly 200 kilometers of sewers under hundreds of roads. Together with the old sewer system, these sewers are a threat to people as it’s hard to find out if they are broken underground.

Numerous fatalities have taken place due to public construction works, such as children falling into open sewage holes, or riders tumbling into deep excavations without fences or sinkholes.  In most cases, the settlement is merely token compensation by the contractor, and no agency has been imputed penal responsibilities.