A truck carrying an overload capacity of more than 40 tons caused the collapse of the Song Ui Bridge in the southern province of Dong Nai on the night of March 19.
The Song Ui Bridge was built to permit only vehicles of less than 10 tons to pass through.
Driver Nguyen Tan Xuan from the Mekong Delta province of Long An, disregarded the sign board on the bridge to drive the overloaded truck across.
When the truck, carrying cement to a nearby construction site, reached the middle of the bridge, it suddenly gave way and collapsed. Driver Xuan and his three assistants jumped out of the truck in time and were fortunate to escape death.
The 24 meter long Song Ui Bridge was built in 2009 at a total cost of VND1.7 billion (US$81,000).
Yesterday, the Xuan Loc District authorities inspected the scene to start the repair of the bridge.
The truck’s owner has pledged to build a temporary bridge by March 21 and then will pay for repairing the entire collapsed bridge.
