No Pinoy killed as Viet bridge collapses

No Filipino was killed when a bridge collapsed in a southern province in Vietnam on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal issued the statement in the wake of reports that a Filipino engineer who was involved in the construction of the bridge was killed in the incident.

Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Laura del Rosario said in a report to the DFA that the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City has confirmed with the Can Tho police, the bridge project contractors and the head Filipino project engineer that there were no Filipinos among the casualties in the bridge collapse.

“There are 35 Filipino engineers employed in the bridge project and all are safe,” Del Rosario said in her report.

At the time of the accident, all 35 Filipino engineers were on the Vinh Long side. The collapse occurred on the Can Tho side of the bridge.

“The Filipino engineer earlier reported as missing is safe. He did not figure in the accident at all,” Del Rosario said. – Pia Lee-Brago