While working with the authorities of Vinh Long province and Can Tho City, Mr Triet appreciated efforts by localities, relevant agencies, forces and people to step up the rescue work and stabilise the situation. He also sent condolences to the victims’ families.

He asked localities to use every means available to retrieve the remaining workers trapped in the rubble, provide assistance for the bereaved and make public a list of the dead and missing.

The State President reminded the Project Management Unit and contractors of safety regulations and asked them to resume work so that the construction process will be completed on schedule.

Meanwhile, rescue efforts have been intensified in the area where the span of the bridge collapsed. On September 27, professional rescue teams and army engineers from Military Zone No9 cut apart blocks of concrete and removed parts of the scaffolding, making it easier for others to rescue the remaining workers trapped underneath the structure. Many people were waiting outside the construction site, raising slight hopes of finding their relatives.