Many observers have said the Nguyen Van Cu bridge’s safety rail is not tall enough.

One person died and two were injured falling off a new Ho Chi Minh City bridge Thursday in the sixth such accident since the overpass opened this April, a local official has said.

Asked about whether the 0.8-0.9 meter rail was too short, Le Quyet Thang, director of HCMC Urban Traffic Management Area No.1, said the height was designed in accordance with regulations. He said the rail’s height couldn’t be changed because it would damage the bridge’s look.

The most recent incident occurred as Nguyen Giang Sang, 21, was driving his two friends, Nguyen Hong Phuc and Nguyen Tri Quang on a motorbike on Nguyen Van Cu Bridge at 4 a.m.

They came into a sharp turn on the bridge at a high speed when the bike crashed into the bridge’s safety rail, tossing the young men off the bridge and into a canal below.

Sang and Phuc were rescued immediately by workers at a nearby construction site and local police. Quang went missing and his body was not retrieved until 10 a.m. the same day.

Five other motorists have been injured falling off the bridge, which connected districts 4, 5, 1 and 8, in only seven months, said Ha Quoc Uu, head of the District 4 police.

District 4 police have proposed that the HCMC Urban Traffic Management Area No.1 place a signboard on the bridge warning of danger at the turn, said Uu.

Thang said a signboard posting the 20 kilometer per hour speed limit and a lighting system were already set up at the turn. He attributed the accidents to the motorcyclists’ high speeds.

However, he said the management board had consulted the city’s transport department for solutions to the problem. Authorities would consider placing a net under the bridge to catch anyone who might fall in the future, said Thang.

Reported by Dam Huy