4 workers die of suspected asphyxiation in factory manhole

According to local authorities, Miwon Vietnam Co. Ltd hired two sanitation workers from a company in Hanoi to clean a manhole at its plant in the northern province on Monday evening.

At around 6 p.m., while they were working down the manhole, the two passed out after suffering from breathing difficulty.

Three Miwon workers jumped in to rescue them but also passed out instantly.

It took around 30 minutes for them to be taken out of the factory and to a hospital by rescuers.

Three of them were pronounced dead on arrival and the fourth late that night.

The victims, all men, were identified as Vu Sa Huynh, 38, Le Hung Vinh, 42, Tran Van Tham, 59, and Duong Van Sau, 38.

Nguyen Trung Kien, 45, is now in stable condition.

There is no official word yet on the cause of death.

But, speaking to the press on Tuesday morning, Ho Dai Dung, deputy chairman of Phu Tho Province, said the workers might have died of asphyxiation, Voice of Vietnam reported.

The police are looking investigating.