Vietnam's death toll from bridge collapse rises to 54
HANOI - The death toll in a bridge collapse in southern Vietnam rose to 54 after rescue workers pulled the last known victim from the rubble on Wednesday, three weeks after the accident occurred.
"According to the contractors and subcontractors, everybody is now accounted for," said Nguyen Van Cong, a Ministry of Transport spokesman. "We hope that he was the last victim."
The Sept. 26 accident left about 80 others injured, many of them in serious condition.
All the victims were Vietnamese workers helping construct the Japanese-financed bridge, a 2.75-kilometer (1.7-mile) span that will link the southern province of Vinh Long and Can Tho, the biggest city in the Mekong Delta.
A government commission headed by the construction minister is trying to determine what caused the accident, which brought down a 100-meter (yard) section of the bridge, one of the largest construction projects in Vietnam.
The bridge is being built by a consortium of three Japanese firms, Taisei Corp., Kajima Corp. and Nippon Steel Corp. Nippon Koei-Chodai is the chief consultant on the US$218 million (€153 million) project, which was largely funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
The Associated Press - October 17, 2007
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