At least 52 people have died following the collapse of a bridge under construction in southern Vietnam.
Almost 100 people were injured, many of whom are in serious condition.
About 250 workers and engineers were working on the 16km long Can Tho bridge when the accident happened.
Many were employees of three Japanese contractors, Taisei, Kazima and Nippon steel.
Ngo Thinh Duc, vice-minister of Transport, told VTV 'The most difficult thing now is to dismantle the huge fallen concrete blocks to save people underneath.'
The VNExpress website quoted police sources as saying a weak scaffolding system fell down, leading to the collapse of parts of the bridge that were only set in concrete yesterday.
The bridge is planned to cross the Hau river and link Can Tho and Vinh Long provinces; the accident occurred on the Vinh Long province side.
Construction on the site started in September 2004. The $300m bridge, built with assistance from the Japanese government, was expected to be completed next year.
