Vice chairman of the provincial administration Doan Tan Buu confirmed the news on January 4 evening, adding that relevant forces have yet to pull up the concrete pillar to retrieve the body after four days of work.

Relevant forces have spent nearly 100 hours trying to rescue the boy with various options but they have tried in vain and the boy must have already died, Buu told local media.

Specialized agencies agreed the boy has died and the forces are seeking to recover the dead body and transfer him to the family, Buu added.

Thai Ly Hao Nam and some of his friends went to the construction site of Roc Sen bridge project on December 31, top hunt for scrap metals. Nam unfortunately fell into an empty concrete pillar 35 m deep under the ground.

Hearing the news, relevant forces were deployed to the scene along with modern rescue equipment, but they could not save the boy.

Source: VOV