The body of 10-year-old Thai Ly Hao Nam was finally recovered Friday, 20 days after he fell down a 35-meter (115 foot) shaft at a construction site in Vietnam’s Dong Thap province, Doan Tan Buu, deputy head of the Dong Thap provincial administration told a news conference.
The boy was declared dead on Jan. 4 but local officials vowed to continue efforts to recover the body from the hollow concrete pillar.
Two local police rescue team members went 24 meters (79 feet) down the hole wearing oxygen masks, according to the VietNews website. It took them nearly two hours to bring the body to the surface.
"Rescue work took a long time, but due to the surrounding soil in a closed environment, the decomposition process of Nam’s body took place more slowly than usual, so the boy’s body remained intact and will be buried based on his family wishes," Provincial Deputy Chairman Doan Tan Buu said.
The boy died from multiple injuries when he hit a hard wall and fell into water, according to a preliminary investigation at the scene, Buu said.
The boy was collecting scrap metal with friends on Dec. 31 when he fell down the hole. Authorities made the decision to pronounce him dead, even though no body had been recovered, after consulting with his father.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered the Ministry of Construction to coordinate with other relevant ministries to inspect the site for violations of the law.
The provincial government will launch its own investigation to determine who was at fault after the boy is buried, Buu said.
Ho Chi Minh City Ferry Bridge Construction Joint Stock Company and T&T Transport Construction Service Trading Company are building the bridge.
Dong Thap Department of Transport and the provincial Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board are managing the project with the Institute of Transport Science and Technology supervising construction.
Edited by Mike Firn.