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Crane collapse kills student in central Vietnam

By Hai Binh November 14, 2016 | 06:59 pm PT

A student fainted at the scene. Photo by VnExpress/Hai Binh

Authorities in Nghe An Province are investigating why the tower crane collapsed on Monday afternoon.

A tower crane came crashing down into a high school in the central province of Nghe An at around 4:45 p.m. on Monday, killing a student on the playground.

Tran Van Hai, a 10th grader at Le Viet Thuat High School, died instantly after the crane fell right on top of him. He was sitting with his friends, who were not hurt in the incident.

The crane also destroyed part of the school's roof. Some students fainted.

The crane was operated by Truong Thanh, a construction company which is building a new housing project next to the school.

"I was cooking and suddenly heard loud noises outside. As I ran out to check, the crane had collapsed across the fences of the construction site," said Hoa, a witness.

"People were screaming and running in panic," another witness said.

Local authorities have cordoned off the area to investigate the cause of the incident. It is believed that construction work was not going on at the time, with sudden land subsidence suspected to be the cause.

In May, a construction crane toppled into a kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh City due to technical problems and landed right next to a classroom, leaving dozens of children and teachers in panic.