Body of Vietnamese boy trapped in concrete pillar recovered weeks after he fell in

The body of a 10-year-old boy was recovered weeks after he became trapped and died in a 115-feet-deep concrete pillar on New Year’s Eve.

Early Friday morning, two rescuers from the Dong Thap Province police department successfully extracted the body of Ly Hao Nam from the ground. The task took nearly two hours, requiring the rescuers to descend 24 meters (approximately 79 feet) in an iron pipe with specialized equipment to reach the body.

Fortunately, Nam’s body was recovered intact.

Doan Tan Buu, deputy chairman of the province, explained that despite how long the recovery took, “due to the closed environment, the decomposition of Nam’s body took place more slowly than usual.”

Nam fell into the pillar while looking for scrap metal at a bridge construction site with his neighbors on Dec. 31.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered hundreds of soldiers, engineering experts and other rescuers to save the boy, but after four days of trying, authorities declared Nam dead on Jan. 4.

Buu stated that despite their prioritized efforts, the boy had been “trapped in a hollow pillar very deep down… with multiple injuries and not enough oxygen for a very long time,” making it “impossible” for the boy to have survived.

After a preliminary investigation was conducted at the scene, Buu concluded that Nam died from colliding with a hard surface and falling into the water below, resulting in multiple injuries.

Nam’s coffin was taken to his house to be prepared for burial. Thai Van Tan Tai, Nam’s father, and Nguyen Thi My Linh, Nam’s mother, cried in front of the altar set up for their son.

An investigation will be launched after the burial to inspect the construction site for safety violations and determine who was at fault for the boy’s death.

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