Second segment of concrete pillar with dead boy inside excavated

A member of the rescue team said the 12-meter-long segment of the 35-meter pillar was pulled up at around 6 p.m. in southern Vietnam’s Dong Thap Province.

The first 12-meter-long segment of the pillar was pulled up from the ground on Monday.

Authorities are now trying to secure the remains of 10-year-old Thai Ly Hao Nam, who fell into the hollow concrete pillar which was just 25 cm across, at a bridge construction site on December 31 as he and his friends were gathering scraps for sale. His remains are expected to be recovered Thursday night, authorities added.

Rescue forces stand above the concrete pillar where 10-year-old boy Thai Ly Hao Nam had fallen into in Dong Thap Province. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Thanh

Dong Thap authorities announced Nam dead on January 4. Provincial deputy chairman Doan Tan Buu said then that a team of medical and forensics experts and local authorities concluded that the boy had died based on various factors, including the location of the accident, the depth of the pillar, the length of time the rescue attempt had gone on, and possible injuries the boy was believed to have suffered.