The body of a 10-year-old boy who fell into a 35-meter-deep hollow concrete pile in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam, late last month has been taken out of the concrete pile after 21 days of rescue, Doan Tan Buu, vice chairman of Dong Thap Province, said on early Friday morning.

The boy, residing in Phu Loi Commune, Thanh Binh District, fell into the concrete pillar, which is planted some 35 meters into the ground and has a diameter of 25 centimeters, at the construction site of the Roc Sen Bridge project in the commune.

The body, which was retrieved from the concrete pile at about 1:20 am, has been handed over to his parents for burial.

Buu said the rescue work had completed, adding that rescuers had ensured safety during the rescue process.

Rescuers take the body of the boy to his house on early Friday morning. Photo: Dang Tuyet / Tuoi Tre

Earlier, the rescue forces had pulled out two segments of the concrete pile.

A plan to pull out the third segment, in which the body of the boy was trapped, was cancelled in the last minute due to multiple obstacles.

The body was in the closed pile surrounded by soil, so the decomposition process was slower than usual and the body remained intact.

“This is a heart-broken case, so the rescue was the top priority. Legal issues will be handled in line with the law after the rescue finished,” Buu added.

Equipment used in the recuse of the boy is tidied up after the body of the boy is taken out of the concrete pillar. Photo: Dang Tuyet / Tuoi Tre

Regarding the cause of the boy’s death, Buu said he suffered multiple injuries after hitting the concrete pile and fell into the water environment.

Late last month, Nam and three friends came to the Roc Sen Bridge construction site in Phu Loi Commune to collect scrap iron and he fell into the hollow concrete pile by accident.

Some witnesses said that the boy cried for help for some ten minutes after falling into the concrete pile.

Since then, some 350 people, including military officers from the Military Region 9, and numerous vehicles and equipment were mobilized to save him.

Despite strong efforts, rescuers faced multiple difficulties and failed to save the boy.

The Dong Thap authorities later declared the boy dead.

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