HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- A section of a bridge under construction in southern Vietnam collapsed Wednesday, killing at least 42 people and injuring 80 others, officials said.
Rescue workers search for survivors of a collapsed bridge in southern Vietnam Wednesday.
The bridge was being built across the Hau River, a branch of the Mekong River, in the southern city of Can Tho. It is part of a heavily used route linking the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City.
The collapsed section was more than 30 meters (98 feet) tall and was situated above land on the river bank in Vinh Long province, said Vo Thanh Tong, chairman of the Can Tho people's committee. The four-lane bridge was not yet open to traffic.
Images broadcast on Vietnamese television showed mounds of twisted steel and cables shrouded in dust and smoke. Dozens of workers in yellow helmets rushed about the wreckage, some carrying stretchers with bloody victims.
Initial estimates of the death toll varied widely. But Nguyen Van Cong, a spokesman for Vietnam's transportation ministry, said that the official count was 42 dead and 80 injured as of Thursday morning, all of them Vietnamese construction workers.
Officials had said at least 200 people were working on the 100-meter (328-foot) long section when it buckled at about 8 a.m. (0100 GMT). Searches continued Thursday. At least six people remained unaccounted for.
Dang Van Tam, director of Central Can Tho General Hospital, said local hospitals were overwhelmed and had called in 20 surgeons from Ho Chi Minh City to help.
"We have never had this many patients," Tam said.
Le Viet Hung, vice chief of the Can Tho police, said the scene was "total chaos."
"It sounded like a huge explosion," Hung said. "It's the biggest accident I've ever seen."
The 2.7-kilometer (1.7-mile) bridge was started in 2004 and expected to be finished next year. It was to be the largest suspension bridge in Vietnam and would greatly speed the trip across the river, which thousands now make daily by ferry.
Officials were still investigating the cause of the accident. Cement had been poured into the collapsed section just one day earlier, on Tuesday. The bracing supporting it had apparently weakened, said Pham Van Dau, chairman of the Vinh Long people's committee.
Japan provided a $218 million loan to finance the project, enough to cover 85 percent of the cost, said Yoshifumi Omura, of the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation in Hanoi. The Vietnamese government provided the rest of the funding.
