A scaffold suddenly gave way at a construction site of a 17-story building in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, leaving three Vietnamese workers dead and four others injured, local construction authorities reported.

The accident occurred at 6:30 am when a lot of workers were working on the scaffolding for the construction of Saigon South Office 1 building on Nguyen Van Linh Street in Tan Phong Ward in District 7, according to the Management Authority for Southern Area Development of Ho Chi Minh City.

Rescuers found seven victims under the debris, of whom three were already dead while the other four were injured, said Ha Phuoc Thang, head of the agency.

The deceased victims were Nguyen Cao Ky, 23, Duong Van Nghia, 39, and Dang Van Hai, 59, Thang said.

All the four injured workers were taken to the FV Hospital and District 7 Hospital for emergency treatment.

One of these victims suffered slight injuries and were discharged later the same day, while the three others remained under treatment.

One of the three, 53-year-old Le Ngoc Mai, underwent an immediate surgery as his abdomen was pierced through by a metal bar.

The scene of the scaffolding collapse. Photo: Tuoi Tre

District 7 authorities have given VND10 million (US$458) each to families of the dead victims, whereas each of the injured received VND5 million, said Huynh Van Hung, chairman of the district People’s Committee.

Police are investigating the cause of the collapse.

Construction work on the high-rise, developed by Saigon South Office 1 Building Co., Ltd., began on May 27, according to local authorities.

Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung on Friday asked the Department of State Assessment of Construction Work Quality to coordinate with concerned agencies to look into the deadly collapse as well as similar incidents that have occurred recently.

On March 25, a scaffold collapsed at a construction site of a Taiwanese-invested steel-mill complex – for which Samsung C&T Vietnam is the contractor – in the Formosa Industrial Park, which is located in Vung Ang Economic Zone in the north central province of Ha Tinh.

The accident killed 13 Vietnamese workers and injured 29 others.

After an investigation, police on May 19 detained two South Koreans who hold managerial positions at a firm under Samsung Group over the collapse.

The two, Lee Jae Myeong, 62, and Kim Jong Wook, 43, have been charged with “breaching regulations on labor safety,” said Ha Tinh police.

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