Up to sixty-four people are now thought to have died after eight more bodies are discovered

Eight more bodies were today dug out of the rubble of Vietnam’s worst bridge accident, which is thought to have killed up to 64 workers and injured 100 others.

Search teams worked through the night to remove concrete and steel debris from the section of the Japanese-funded bridge in Can Tho City, 105 miles southwest of Ho Chi Minh.

The Japanese-funded project, which was expected to finish next year, is being built to connect Can Tho and Vinh Long province over the Hau river. At 1.7 miles, it will be the country’s longest bridge.

Construction began in 2004 with $300m from the Japanese government and further financing from the Vietnamese government.

Three Japanese contractors – Taisei Corp, Kajima Corp, and Nippon Steel Engineering Co Ltd – were on the site at the time of the collapse.

Transport minister Ho Nghia Dung told Reuters TV: “This is the most serious ever bridge incident in the history of the transport sector.” He said the priority was to find the missing workers but that construction would resume once the site had been secured.

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