The contractor of the Phu Do – Thang Long Highway in Hanoi has refused to take any responsibility for the drowning of four boys who swam in a rainwater-filled pit at the construction site on Monday.
The families shed tears at the funeral of the drowned boys Photo: VnExpress
Nguyen Thanh Quynh, deputy director of Vietnam Construction and Import-Export Joint Stock Cooperation (Vinaconext) which is in charge of the project, told the press that the drowning was simply an accident which should be blamed on the boys’ families.
Quynh said the Phu Do – Thang Long Highway began in late 2008 and would be due this year but could be delayed because of difficulties in site clearing.
The pit where the boys were drowned has an area of 400 square meters and a depth of 2m and didn’t have a warning sign at the time of the drowning.
Quynh said his company did have warning signs installed at the construction site but they might have been swept away by the heavy rain in recent days.
His company is waiting for further investigations about the accident, he added.
Meanwhile, the father of two of the drowned boys, Nghiem Van Toan, said the boys wouldn’t have dared to swim in the pit if there had been warning signs.
The contractor has only offered a compensation of VND50 million to Toan.