By BEN STOCKING, Associated Press Writer

HANOI, Vietnam - A section of a bridge under construction in southern Vietnam collapsed Wednesday, killing at least 34 workers and leaving dozens more trapped or injured, officials said.

The bridge was being built across the Hau River, a branch of the Mekong River, in the southern city of Can Tho.

The collapsed section was more than 98 feet tall and was situated above land on the river bank in Vinh Long province, said Vo Thanh Tong, chairman of the Can Tho people’s committee. The four-lane bridge was not yet open to traffic.

Images broadcast on Vietnamese television showed mounds of twisted steel and cables shrouded in dust and smoke. Dozens of workers in yellow helmets rushed about the wreckage, some carrying stretchers with bloody victims.

At least 34 people died, said Dang Van Tam, director of Central Can Tho General Hospital. More than 70 were injured, said Pham Van Dau, chairman of Vinh Long people’s committee.

“It was total chaos,” said Le Viet Hung, vice chief of the Can Tho police. “It sounded like a huge explosion. It’s the biggest accident I’ve ever seen.”

The exact number of missing was unknown, but on a normal day up to 140 people would work on the section that collapsed, Tong said. The official Vietnam News Agency reported that about 250 people were working there when the section buckled at about 8 a.m.

The 1.7 mile bridge was started in 2004 and expected to be finished next year. It was to be the largest suspension bridge in Vietnam and would greatly speed the trip across the river, which thousands now make daily by ferry.

Tong said workers had just poured concrete on the affected section Tuesday.

Japan provided a $218 million loan to finance the project, enough to cover 85 percent of the cost, said Yoshifumi Omura, of the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation in Hanoi. The Vietnamese government provided the rest of the funding.

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