Deadly scaffold collapse kills at least a dozen in Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam, March 25 (UPI) -- At least a dozen construction workers were killed and several were hurt in the northern coast of Vietnam Wednesday attempting to build a scaffold that collapsed on them -- and many more became trapped beneath the rubble, officials said.

The workers were building the scaffold approximately 130 feet high in the Ha Tinh Steel Complex & Son Duong Port, and was contracted by a labor group in Da Nang, Thanhnien News reported.

Thanhnien News reported at least 16 deaths and 27 wounded. The workers were subcontractors for a branch of South Korea's Samsung group, BBC News reported.

Part of the reason exact toll and injury numbers were not immediately known is because there were thousands of people at the construction site during the collapse, the VnExpress news website said.

Officials said all of the casualties are believed to be Vietnamese. Emergency personnel and government officials visited the site to evaluate the rescue effort, including Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

The Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation has been building a huge steel complex in the area, called the Vung Ang economic zone, Vietnam Bridge reported, and recruited roughly 40,000 workers for the project.

Last May, the same site was the scene of violent anti-Chinese demonstrations that resulted in the deaths of at least two people and injuries to nearly 150 more.

Earlier this month, Vietnamese government investigators determined that managers at the Formosa group had committed several violations -- including licensing the Ha Tinh Steel Complex & Son Duong Port for a period of 70 years, when regulations say 50 years is the maximum available licensing period.

An official told Thanhnien News that a tunnel beneath the scaffolding was hindering rescue efforts.