Hanoi
authorities have launched an investigation into a high-rise construction site at
which six workers have died since July last year.
The
inspection of the Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower would last for 30 working days,
said Nguyen Thi Phuc, vice director of Hanoi's Department of Labors, War
Invalids and Social Affairs. Phuc is also leading the inspection team.
Slated to
be Vietnam's tallest structure and the world's 17th tallest building
once it is completed this year, the 70-story building recorded the first four
casualties last July when workers slipped and fell to their deaths.
The
construction was then suspended, but three other workers were injured when work
resumed a few days later.
Another
worker became the fifth victim when he was killed by a falling steel pipe last
month.
A few weeks
later a technician was killed when a formwork section collapsed. The
construction firm in charge of the work, Keangnam-Vina Company, is South
Korean-owned.
The US$1.05
billion complex plans to house hotels, offices and high-end apartments,
including two 47-floor apartment blocks and a 70-floor high-rise, estimated to
be 344 meters high.
On
Wednesday the Ministry of Labors, War Invalids and Social Affairs reported that
Vietnam last year recorded 6,250 labor accidents in total, 414 cases more than
the previous year.
While 550
people were killed, 1,221 were injured, it said, noting that Ho Chi Minh City
topped the list of localities with fatal accidents.
The
ministry said 102 cases and 103 deaths were recorded at the southern hub,
followed by the southern province of Dong Nai and the northern province of Quang
Ninh.
Vu Nhu Van,
deputy head of the ministry's Labor Safety Department, said work at construction
sites outside of civil, industrial and traffic projects accounted for more than
50 percent of the total accidents.
The most
common reason for deaths was falling from high levels, he noted.
According
to the ministry, the country suffered from losses of over VND39 billion (US$2.1
million) caused by work accidents.