Worker killed in Vietnam bridge collapse

By DPA

Hanoi - One construction worker was killed and another seriously injured in Ho Chi Minh City when a span of the bridge they were building collapsed, a doctor said Wednesday. The accident occurred Tuesday at the 500-meter-long Cho Dem Bridge on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.
Tran Van Thanh, 26, suffered badly broken legs and died of blood loss in hospital.

"We mobilized all our forces, but we could not save his life," said Dr Pham Van Nghiem, a senior official in the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department.

The second victim, Tran Dinh Trung, 22, was in critical condition with severe head and facial injuries, according to Nghiem.

All boats have been barred from passing under the bridge while safety authorities carry out inspections.

Trinh Nam Son, deputy director of the bridge construction project, said the accident could not be due to the quality of the steel and concrete span, which he said had been thoroughly tested.
Vietnam's Ministry of Transportation said in a press release that errors by crane operators in lifting the bridge's final span into place had caused the accident.

"The workers did not follow technical regulations, leading to the accident," the ministry said.
Vietnam's Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs reported more than 5,800 work accidents last year with more than 6,000 people killed.

In 2007 the 2.7-kilometer Can Tho Bridge spanning the Hau River in Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta collapsed during construction, killing 54 workers and injuring several others.