A general view of the collapse of the Can Tho bridge under construction in Vietnam's southern province of Vinh Long, on 26 September. At least 14 people died Wednesday morning following the collapse of the bridge. (AFP) HANOI (Reuters) - A bridge under construction collapsed in southern Vietnam on Wednesday, killing at least 60 workers, and 100 others were missing, a contractor and police said.
State-run Vietnam TV showed footage of the damage to the collapsed concrete and steel structure in Can Tho City and reported that people were still trapped in the rubble.
A contractor with China State Construction Engineering Corp, one of the firms involved in the construction of the bridge, said by telephone that 60 people were dead.
"They are still pulling out bodies from the rubble, I could hear the screams," the contractor said from Can Tho, which is 170 km (105 miles) south of the commercial centre of Ho Chi Minh City.
Police said there were about 100 workers directly under the section of the bridge over the Hau river where the scaffolding collapsed at about 08:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) at the start of a shift. About 150 workers were on the bridge surface, a Can Tho police officer said.
"The figures of victims are still being updated but as many as 100 could be dead or missing for now," the officer said by telephone.
The cause of the collapse on a section of the 2.75 km (1.7 miles) long bridge was not immediately known, but Vietnam TV reported that rains may have softened the foundation.
The bridge was being built at a cost of $300 million to be finished next year.
Most of the workers were Vietnamese but the contractor said that less than 10 Filipinos and Japanese workers were unaccounted for.
Officials in Can Tho said about 250 engineers and workers from three Japanese contractors -- Taisei Corp, Kazima and Nippon Steel Corp -- were on the construction site at the time of the accident.
Hau river is one of the nine tributaries of the Mekong river when it enters southern Vietnam from Cambodia. Rice traders said barge traffic would not be affected by the accident.
The online VnExpress (www.vnexpress.net) newspaper quoted officials in Can Tho as saying the scaffolding collapsed.
"We heard a loud explosion and then a big cloud of dust and screams from workers stuck in the rubble," the state-run newspaper quoted a bridge engineer at the site as saying.
State-run Vietnam TV showed footage of the damage to the collapsed concrete and steel structure in Can Tho City and reported that people were still trapped in the rubble.
A contractor with China State Construction Engineering Corp, one of the firms involved in the construction of the bridge, said by telephone that 60 people were dead.
"They are still pulling out bodies from the rubble, I could hear the screams," the contractor said from Can Tho, which is 170 km (105 miles) south of the commercial centre of Ho Chi Minh City.
Police said there were about 100 workers directly under the section of the bridge over the Hau river where the scaffolding collapsed at about 08:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) at the start of a shift. About 150 workers were on the bridge surface, a Can Tho police officer said.
"The figures of victims are still being updated but as many as 100 could be dead or missing for now," the officer said by telephone.
The cause of the collapse on a section of the 2.75 km (1.7 miles) long bridge was not immediately known, but Vietnam TV reported that rains may have softened the foundation.
The bridge was being built at a cost of $300 million to be finished next year.
Most of the workers were Vietnamese but the contractor said that less than 10 Filipinos and Japanese workers were unaccounted for.
Officials in Can Tho said about 250 engineers and workers from three Japanese contractors -- Taisei Corp, Kazima and Nippon Steel Corp -- were on the construction site at the time of the accident.
Hau river is one of the nine tributaries of the Mekong river when it enters southern Vietnam from Cambodia. Rice traders said barge traffic would not be affected by the accident.
The online VnExpress (www.vnexpress.net) newspaper quoted officials in Can Tho as saying the scaffolding collapsed.
"We heard a loud explosion and then a big cloud of dust and screams from workers stuck in the rubble," the state-run newspaper quoted a bridge engineer at the site as saying.
14 comments:
Oh Great Lord!
Recently AH HUN SEN Vietcong puppet government depends greatly on the Vietcong expertise to built hydroelectricity dam in Stung Treng in the near future and now looks what happen here!
I told all of you Cambodian people to move beyond the Vietcong and the Thaicong know how for years and you still don't listen and believe me!
The short cut for quick profit construction will cost more innocence life!
To all Cambodian people please move beyond the Thaicong and the Vietcong know how before it too late!
The rancorous that mother fucker created killing fild in Cambodia
OMG, send help! ... now, now, now!!!
We need choppers, ambulances, doctors, ...
My condolence to all hard working people who have strived to rebuild their country.
What is a tragic? This bridge is a very important infrastructure element to boost the Delta region economy. They needed it to support the growth.
Looking at the slanted support column of the bridge in the picture, I would GUESS it is caused by an unexpected mud slide or shift near the slanted column. Just a quick 10cm shift could cause such a chain reaction, especially at this stage where sections of the bridge are not fully secure.
This kind of the engineers that the blind man wanted to do business with ,the blind prime minister you will collapse like this bridge ,see it for your dream.
Thanks you,
THAT BRIDGE MADE IN CHINA.
Hey, even your $billions Space-Shuttle getting fuck once in a while, alright?
Oh, almost forgot, I hope we will send some delegation to learn the cause of this tragic because we're are all in the same water (the mekong). This knowledge might come in handy in the future.
GOOdnest and how many CCP leaders got PHD from Viet Name?
See what the roten foundation can do?
Nine dragon in Kampucheakrom, remember the 10th show up in Chactomok last year ( the white dragon ) the time is comming One Eye Faked Dragon! if I were you I will run and hide in Hanoi!
Dream on, Mouth.
Oh man I have never drive on Viet's bridges again, except the old bridges American made too young to die.
Don't worry, Viet's bridges are just for rational people, not idiots. They (idiots) can swim across the Mekong.
Go a head and swim across your pollute China river we have our Seine River to swim. thank any way
I have no objection to using China bridges. Tell 5:30 to swim across China polluted river since he don't trust China bridges.
Post a Comment