A 30m high scaffold structure collapsed at the Vung Ang economic zone in central Ha Tinh province late on March 25, killing at least 14 workers and injuring tens of others.

Nguyen Huy Tang of the Ha Tinh border guard said the accident occurred at around 8pm on March 25 when the workers were building the scaffold, which stood between 30 meters to 40 meters high, in the Ha Tinh Steel Complex & Son Duong Port, invested by Formosa Plastics Group.

The collapsed scaffold was part of a project contracted by a labor supply company based in the central city of Danang and invested by Samsung C&T, a subsidiary of Samsung.

“A tunnel below the scaffold structure has hindered rescue work,” Tang said. “All available resources have been mobilized to rescue around other 100 workers trapped under the rubble.”

At least 30 injured workers have been rushed to the Ha Tinh General Hospital for further treatment. All the victims are Vietnamese.

Last July, also in Vung Ang Economic Zone, two Vietnamese workers were killed and three others severely injured after a scaffold collapsed at the construction site of a water plant of a future steel mill owned by Formosa.

Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, a unit of Formosa Plastics Group, has been building a huge steel complex in Vung Ang. The project recruits around 40,000 laborers, 5,659 of whom are Chinese.

Some pictures of the scene:

The scaffold structure cover 1,000sq.m.     After the incident, thousands of tons of steel are on the ground.         Ha Tinh authorities have mobilized over 500 people, including border guards to Vung Ang to ensure order and security.       The scaffold structure is over 30m high.           Some rescuers are too tired after working from 9pm until 4am.           The green net above the scaffold structure that collapsed last night.           Rescue workers worked overnight. At present two people are still stuck under the rubble.         Rescue work is very difficult because of big pieces of steel, said Captain Nguyen Huy Tang, from the mobile force of the Ha Tinh Border Guard.                   This is the biggest labor accident in Formosa construction site so far.       The censer for victims. Last night the Hanoi-based Vietnam-Germany Hospital sent some doctors to Ha Tinh.

VOV/VNE/VNN