Investigation on Can Tho bridge collapse announced-<"the depression of the foundation of a key temporary pillar">

**ngocthiem3g.GK** Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:35 pm

The Minister of Construction on July 2 reported to the government the
reason that made the collapse of Can Tho bridge last September, which
killed over 50.

Panorama of Can Tho bridge collapse

The tragedy occurred in the morning of September 26, 2007,
killed over 50 and injured dozens of workers. The Prime Minister set up
the State Investigation Council to seek the reason of the collapse.
After nine months of investigation, the council announced the reason on
July 2.

The
councilâ€™s chairman, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Quan, said the
major reason was the depression of the foundation of a key temporary
pillar. He said the collapse caused by the depression took place within
20 seconds.

He
added that according to regulations, the major responsibility belonged
to designer but the depression in such a narrow scale may be considered
as a risk, which is very difficult to anticipate in design.

Quan said the Japanese side completely agreed with the above investigation result.

â€œThe
responsibility belongs to three sides: the investor, the contractor,
and the consulter. The Japanese contractor and consulter executed their
civil responsibility through compensation,â€ the Minister said.

He
said the Ministry of Public Security has prosecuted the case and they
will continue investigation and suggest forms of punishments after
researching the State Investigation Councilâ€™s documents.