Nine plunge to death in funeral bridge collapse

Mourners have filmed the horrific moment nine people plunged to their deaths during a funeral procession when a bridge collapsed under their feet in northern Vietnam.

Dozens of villagers were crossing the slender 54m-long bridge to a graveyard in Son Binh Commune on Monday when the fatal collapse occurred, Thanh Nien News reports.

One by one the procession files onto the rusty steel walkway until a wire suddenly gives way under the strain.

Screams of terror can be heard as people plunge almost 10m onto the rocks below.

The bloody scene which met rescuers, including a team of 25 doctors, was filmed but is too graphic to show.

"It was a horrible scene," police officer Phung Quang Tuyen told local media.

"People were screaming and crying."

Three people died instantly and at least six others are reported to have later died in hospital.

A further 41 people were injured in the fall, 23 with serious injuries.

The coffin containing the body of a village official was reportedly hurled into the shallow stream.

Investigators have not officially determined the cause of the accident but the bridge is only rated to carry 1.5 tonnes.

Source: Thanh Nien News
Author: Matthew Henry. Approving editor: Nick Pearson.