Three people suffocate to death in Thái Bình Province

January 30, 2019 - 15:00

Three people have reportedly died of suffocation in the northern province of Thái Bình on Tuesday.

The scene of the workplace accident where three people reportedly died of suffocation in the northern province of Thái Bình on Tuesday. — Photo news.zing.vn
Viet Nam News

THÁI BÌNH — Three people have reportedly died of suffocation in the northern province of Thái Bình on Tuesday.

The victims were identified as Lê Xuân Tuân, 29, from Hưng Yên Province, Nguyễn Xuân Reo, 33, from Hà Nam Province and Kiều Xuân Cương, 23, from Hà Nội.

According to local police, the victims were tasked with installing a gas pipeline.

Minh Hiếu Commercial Production Company in Tiền Hải Industrial Park purchased gas from Northern Low Pressure Gas Distribution Company, and Phúc Minh Sang Company was hired to install the pipeline.

On Tuesday morning, Phúc Minh Sang Company assigned Reo and Cương to take the job, while Tuân from the Northern Low Pressure Gas Distribution Company was tasked with supervising the work.

At 7pm on the same day, after losing contact with the three workers, Phúc Minh Sang Company dispatched several people to the scene and they found that all three had died in a hole at the beginning of the pipeline.

Initial investigation suggests the cause of death was inert gas asphyxiation.

The People’ Committee of Thái Bình Province has decided to provide VNĐ5 million (US$216) in support for families of the deceased victims.

Further investigations are underway.

The number of work-related accidents remains high in the country in spite of Government’s effort to improve labour safety. Việt Nam saw 8,956 workplace accidents with 9,173 victims and 928 deaths in 2017, according to the Department of Work Safety.

In the first half of 2018, there were 3,988 workplace accidents that killed 384 people. This number is so high in part because of insufficient attention on workplace safety procedures, outdated equipment and a lack of safety training. — VNS

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