Vietnamese boy dies in concrete pile during 100-hour rescue effort

 A 10-year-old Vietnamese boy who fell into the narrow open shaft of a concrete pile at a construction site on New Year's Eve has been confirmed dead, state media said on Wednesday.

Rescuers spent nearly 100 hours trying to free Ly Hao Nam from the 35m support pillar without success, online newspaper VnExpress cited a government official as saying.

“The authorities have determined that the victim has died and are trying to recover his body for the funeral,” deputy chair of the southern province of Dong Thap, Doan Tan Buu, was quoted as saying.

Nam was heard crying for help shortly after he fell into the hollow pile, which has a diameter of 25cm, on Saturday in the Mekong Delta province. He and his friends had been searching for scrap iron. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Vietnamese prime minister Pham Minh Chinh urged rescuers and local authorities to mobilise all equipment and forces needed, the government said.