The captain of a barge was killed in the Mekong Delta’s Tien Giang Province Sunday night (December 19) as it got stuck at a bridge on the Rach Gam River.

Phung Minh Tam, 33, was crushed to death as he tried to steer the barge under the bridge after misjudging the water level in the river and the height of the O Thuoc Bridge on the Rach Gam River.

Do Minh Toan, a crew member on the barge, said it was not carrying any cargos then.

Toan said captain Tam had stopped to observe the bridge before passing it but he had miscalculated, as it was dark and the water level was high.

The prow of the barge passed the bridge but the cabin didn’t. The collision caused Tam to get stuck to the bridge, the sailor said.

As of Monday morning, local authorities had closed the bridge to traffic.