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A Japanese-funded bridge under construction in southern Vietnam collapsed yesterday, killing up to 60 workers and injuring around 150 in the country's worst such disaster.

One police officer said as many as 100 may be dead or missing.

TV news bulletins broadcasted footage of a mass of tangled steel and concrete at the scene, and emergency workers in white uniforms taking bloodied victims to hospital for treatment.

"It is total chaos here," said Tran Thanh Quang, director of military hospital 112 in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, where most victims were being treated.

At least 150 people were being treated for injuries and hospitals were running out of beds, officials said. Doctors and nurses were sent from Ho Chi Minh City, 170 km away, to help.

Official media said the collapse of a section of bridge next to the Hau River was the worst bridge accident in Vietnam, which is ramping up infrastructure projects to keep pace with an economy growing at more than 8 percent per year.

Most of the dead and injured were Vietnamese. The Japanese embassy in Hanoi said it had not yet confirmed whether or not any Japanese were on site at the time of the 8:30 am (9:30 am, Beijing time) collapse when about 250 workers were on the bridge.

The bridge is being built to link Can Tho and Vinh Long province over the heavily used river, one of nine tributaries of the Mekong River.

A police official in Vinh Long said he saw 36 bodies.

"They are using machinery to cut and lift the concrete," the police official said. "It is very difficult to reach the bodies and there is also danger of further collapse."

Taisei Corp, Kajima Corp and Nippon Steel Engineering Co Ltd began building the bridge in 2004, with a further $300 million in aid from the Japanese government. It was to be finished next year and have a span of 2.75 km.

(China Daily 09/27/2007 page 1)

Questions:

1. How did Tran Thanh Quang describe the situation?

2. How far did medical staff from Hoh Chi Minh City have to travel to reach the accident site?

3. The bridge was meant to connect which two provinces?

4. When completed, how long will the bridge be?

Answers:

1. Chaos.

2. 170km.

3. Can Tho and Vinh Long.

4. 2.75km.

（英语点津 Linda 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from Auckland, New Zealand. Marc has had an eclectic career in the media/arts, most recently working as a radio journalist for NewstalkZB, New Zealand’s leading news radio network, as a feature writer for Travel Inc, New Nutrition Business (UK) and contributor for Mana Magazine and the Sunday Star Times. Marc is also a passionate arts educator and is involved in various media/theatre projects in his native New Zealand and Singapore where he is currently based. Marc joins the China Daily with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.