Vietnam

Why did these people have to die in this way? It would be fascinating to know about each one’s role in the war. Why didn’t they die during the war? It is also interesting to see who dies at the same time. “Vu Ky, the longtime personal secretary and confidant of Vietnam’s revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, has died, a doctor said. Ky, 84, died Saturday after a long illness, the director of a Hanoi hospital said.”

Bus crash kills 32 Vietnamese war veterans A bus taking Vietnamese war veterans on a tour of former battlefields along the Ho Chi Minh Trail has toppled over a cliff after its brakes failed, killing 32 of the 33 passengers, officials and police said.

The sole survivor was in critical condition, a police officer said from Kontum province in the Central Highlands, where the bus crashed about 540 kilometres north-east of Ho Chi Minh City.

Thirty-one of the passengers were killed instantly and another died in hospital, he said.

The veterans, aged around 60 and mostly from Hanoi, were making their way to Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, to attend the 30th anniversary of the end of Vietnam War on April 30.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail, along which thousands of people struggled to keep war material flowing south during the Vietnam War, was the scene of frequent fighting.

-Reuters

some more detail….

The accident took place at 8:00 am (0100 GMT) while the bus was crossing the Lo So peak in central Vietnam’s Kon Tum province about 1,100 kilometres (nearly 700 miles) south of Hanoi.

The bus was transporting 33 people, all war veterans from Hanoi bound for Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, for the celebrations scheduled for April 30.

When the bus started its descent from the peak, the driver lost control of the bus, which fell into a ravine 70 metres (about 230 feet) deep.

“All the veterans lived in Hanoi and were headed for Ho Chi Minh City”, the police official said, adding, “they were all dressed in ceremonial uniform, sporting their medals and ribbons.”

Local authorities have retrieved the bodies of the dead veterans, the official in Dac Hlay district said, adding that two died in hospital. The lone survivor is still receiving treatment, he said. http://www.keralanext.com/news

By pondering these things we become more aware of purpose weaving through human life.