Container truck fire causes Phu My bridge to be congested for more than two hours

A tractor-trailer caught fire while driving on Phu My bridge, causing traffic on the main road connecting Thu Duc City and District 7 for two hours on the morning of March 28.

At around 6:30 a.m., a tractor-trailer pulling two 20-foot containers drove on Phu My bridge, heading from My Thuy roundabout to Nguyen Van Linh, District 7. Just after passing the road and turning onto Nguyen Van Quy street, smoke and fire appeared in the vehicle's cabin.

The driver stopped the car and his assistant opened the door to escape before the fire engulfed the cabin. The fire lasted 15 minutes, causing the front of the vehicle to be charred, leaving the two cargo boxes unaffected.

The incident occurred during rush hour, with heavy traffic causing congestion on the lane on Phu My Bridge from Thu Duc City to District 7 for about a kilometer.

Traffic police then came to handle the scene, routing vehicles onto Nguyen Van Quy street to reduce congestion. As of 8:30 a.m., the scene was still being processed. Vehicles must move slowly through the scene area. The cause could be an electrical short causing a fire in the cabin.

Phu My Bridge is more than two kilometers long, is the largest cable-stayed bridge in Ho Chi Minh City across the Saigon River, with a total investment of 2,100 billion VND, started in 2005, completed after 4 years. The project is located on Ring Road 2, the only traffic axis connecting District 7 with Thu Duc City and one of two routes into and out of Cat Lai - the country's largest seaport.

The Southern provinces are at the peak of heat, in some localities the temperature reaches 38-39 degrees Celsius, the outdoor heat at noon is even higher. Authorities warn that dry weather and prolonged heat can cause fires and explosions.