Concrete floor collapse kills 1, injures 4 in southern Vietnam

The accident occurred around 1:35 pm, when workers were just beginning their afternoon shift at the construction site of the Hoang Tu (Prince) Wedding- Convention Center, situated at the Can Tho Sea Tourism Complex in Ninh Kieu District.

According to witnesses’ accounts, a concrete floor which was approximately 10 meters long and three meters wide tumbled down over the workers who were dismantling a scaffold beneath.

Le Van Xi, 40, one of the survivors, recalled that he heard a deafening noise while working indoors before realizing the collapse.

“People scrambled to pull two workers out from the debris, with one having his leg torn off, and rushed them to hospital,” he added.

Shortly after the collapse, local police and fire fighters promptly arrived at the scene to the victims’ rescue.

According to a preliminary investigation, the deceased is Truong Van Han, 33.

Representatives of Military Hospital 121, based in Ninh Kieu, said they have transferred Phan Van Ut, one of the four wounded men, to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment for his multiple injuries.

The military infirmary had also performed a skull surgery on Mai Ba Tan, another injured victim, while offering intensive care to Phan Van Hieu, who suffers serious head trauma in the wake of the collapse.

As observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, part of the construction site faces the Hau River, one of the Mekong tributaries.

The place where the accident happened is in the front of the site.

Work on the center, which spans a large area and is developed by Hau River Tourism Co., began some months ago.

A restaurant and aquatic recreation area, as part of the Can Tho Sea Tourism Complex, started operating quite some time ago.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.