Bridge Collapse Kills 7 in Northern Vietnam

Police say seven mourners were killed when a bridge broke as they were transporting a coffin to a graveyard in northern Vietnam.

Police officer Phung Quang Tuyen said 37 others were injured Monday – 23 seriously – in Tam Duong District in Lai Chau province when cables on one side of the suspension bridge snapped, causing the group to fall some 20 meters (65 feet) onto rocks.

The coffin containing the body of a village official was also thrown into the shallow stream, he said.

The bridge was about a year old.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway, Tuyen said.