VietNamNet Bridge - An excavator bit deeply into the ground, causing a gap at the foot of a wall, which made it collapse. Four boys standing nearby were buried. Two died on the spot and two others died on the way to the hospital.

 The site where the four kids were buried.

Around 9.30am on September 29, Mrs. Bui Thi Lan in Ram Village, Quang Trung commune, Ngoc Lac district of Thanh Hoa province hired an excavator for backfilling her garden.

Five boys were curious of the excavator so they stood near the wall and the working machine to avoid the sun, while watching the machine. Suddenly the wall fell down and  four kids were buried by bricks and mortar.

The people present at the scene shouted for help while digging the rubble to save the children. When rescuers found the victims, two were dead. Two others were taken to the hospital but they died on the way.

The victims are Pham Van Dang, 12, Truong Van Thanh, 10, Bui Pham Ngoc Bao and Bui Van Nam, both 9.

 The excavator.

A 9-year-old boy named Tran Phu Trieu survived since he stood facing the four remaining boys.

Mr. Truong Van Dung, the father of victim Thanh, said that Thanh was his only child. Dung and his wife were infertile and it took them many years of treatment to have Thanh.

Another victim – Bao – was motherless. His father was working in the south when the incident occurred.

Witnesses said the wall collapsed because the excavator dug closely to the wall foot.

Thanh Hoa police are investigating the incident.

P. Lan