Photos of a child sitting on the railing of a newly-opened bridge in northern Vietnam have sparked a wave of criticism on social media.

The mentioned bridge is Ben Rung Bridge linking Hai Phong City with Quang Ninh Province. It was opened to traffic on Wednesday, attracting many people to get fresh air and take photos.

Many netizens have criticized adults for letting the child on the bridge railing to take photos.

Do Tuan Anh, general director of the Hai Phong Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Unit, the investor of the bridge, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday that the unit had received reports of the case and was coming up with a bridge management plan.

Tuan Anh added that the unit had opened the bridge to traffic but had not handed over it to the locality. 

Although it has assigned employees to guard the bridge, they have no authority to handle residents putting themselves in danger.

An adult sits on the Ben Rung Bridge railing. Photo: V.TINH / Tuoi Tre

The unit will ask the People’s Committee of Thuy Nguyen District, Hai Phong City to work out safety measures and recommend the residents not to sit on the bridge railing, Tuan Anh said, adding that letting a child sit on the bridge railing was extremely dangerous.

Nguyen Huy Hoang, chairman of the administration in Thuy Nguyen District, said that the district would assign personnel to work with the Hai Phong Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Unit to warn residents of not sitting on the bridge railing, gathering, or parking vehicles on the bridge.

The six-lane Ben Rung Bridge spans over the Da Bach River and carries a price tag of VND1.941 trillion (US$76.8 million).

Like us on Facebook or  follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!