Vietnamese authorities announced on Wednesday that the 10-year-old boy has reportedly been trapped dead in a 115-foot-deep concrete hole since New Year’s Eve.
The boy, identified as Thai Ly Hao Nam, was first heard screaming for help as he slipped through a 10-inch diameter shaft at a bridge construction site in Dong Thap province on Saturday morning while scavenging for scrap metal with friends.
Although oxygen was pumped into the hole to reach him, the boy stopped interacting with rescuers on Monday. The crew lowered a camera to try to pinpoint its location.
The BBC reported on Wednesday that the boy was injured when rescuers tried to lift the pillar.
VIETNAM RESCUERS RACE TO RESCUE A BOY THAT HAS BEEN TRAPPED IN A 115 FEET CONCRETE HOLE SINCE NEW YEARS EVE
Doan Tan Buu, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Dong Thap Province, addresses media in Dong Thap province on January 4, 2023 amid news of the death of a boy trapped in a deep shaft at a construction site. (Hai Long/AFP via Getty Images)
Doan Tan Buu, deputy head of South Vietnam’s province, also said not enough oxygen could reach the 10-year-old, who has already suffered multiple injuries.
“Our priority was to save the boy. However, the conditions make it impossible for the boy to have survived,” he said.
Rescue workers look at the spot where a 10-year-old boy is believed to be trapped in a 35-meter-deep shaft at a bridge construction site in Vietnam’s Dong Thap province, January 2, 2023. (STR/AFP via Getty Images )
The officer said he consulted with medical experts before declaring the boy’s death on Wednesday, but crews were still working to recover the 10-year-old’s body for a proper burial as soon as possible, AFP reported . The official added that it was a “very difficult task”.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh tapped federal rescuers on Monday to join local authorities’ efforts to save the boy, AFP reported.
Hundreds of rescuers in Vietnam worked on January 2, 2023 to extricate a 10-year-old boy who fell into a 35-meter hole at a construction site two days earlier. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
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Hundreds of soldiers and technicians were mobilized on Tuesday to try to rescue him, the BBC said. The crews tried drilling to soften the soil around the column to try to get the column up and out of the ground. They also lowered a 62-foot pipe to try to remove mud and water to relieve pressure around the column.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.