Rescuers search Vietnamese bridge

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Rescuers are searching for bodies under the rubble of a bridge that collapsed in Vietnam on Wednesday, killing at least 42 people and injuring 80 more.

The accident happened in Can Tho, some 170 km (105 miles) south of the commercial centre of Ho Chi Minh City.

About 250 construction workers were working on the bridge at the time. Some are still missing.

Rescuers worked through the night cutting through steel and concrete as they searched for victims.

It is not clear what caused the collapse.

The bridge was being built over the Hau River at a cost of $300m (£150m), and was expected to be finished next year.

'Worst accident'

There have been differing reports over how many people were killed in the collapse.

Vietnam's Transport Minister Ho Nghia Dung said 42 bodies had been recovered, but he added that more people were believed to be missing.

"Our top priority is to look for the remaining missing," he said. "This is the worst bridge accident in Vietnam's history."

Relatives of construction workers gathered at the site, hoping for news of missing loved ones.

Nguyen Van Bao, 23, said he was working on the bridge when a 100m section collapsed early on Wednesday morning.

"I heard a huge explosion and then there was dust everywhere," he told the Associated Press news agency.

"I saw people pulling out many bodies, most of them covered in blood. I can't believe this happened," he said.

Construction on the Japanese-funded 2.75 km (1.7 mile), four-lane suspension bridge started in 2004.

It was designed to enable people to travel across the Hau River - a tributary of the Mekong River - instead of taking a ferry.