Five Workers Killed in Biogas Pit Accident at Major Vietnamese Pig Farm
Published on 07/19/2026 at 18:48 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A catastrophic workplace incident at a large-scale pig farm in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province has left five workers dead and two others seriously injured, prompting a government investigation into safety standards across the region's livestock sector.
The accident occurred on July 18, 2026, at a facility operated by Dabaco Thanh Hoa Co., Ltd. in Thach Quang commune. The tragedy highlights the extreme dangers of confined-space work in agricultural operations — a risk that UK employers under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations and the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 are legally required to manage through rigorous risk assessment and emergency procedures.
The tragic incident in Vietnam is a stark reminder of the dangers of toxic gases and oxygen depletion in confined spaces — risks that can exist in any workplace with tanks, pits, or silos. Under COSHH Regulations, UK employers have a legal duty to identify hazardous substances and assess the risks they pose. A free COSHH toolkit gives you 43 ready-to-use risk assessment templates, checklists and toolbox talks to help document your controls and stay compliant. Get the free COSHH Risk Assessment Toolkit
What Happened at the Farm
The incident began around 5:30 PM in the manure filtration and biogas pit area. Worker Bui Van Ve, 37, suffered an electric shock while repairing wiring near a fertiliser filter tank and fell into the pit below.
Colleagues who attempted to rescue him were quickly overcome by oxygen depletion and toxic gases within the confined space. Three workers — Bui Van Ve, Truong Van Lam, and Bui Van Tuyen — were confirmed dead shortly after the incident. The death toll rose to five by the following morning, with Tran Dinh Cong and Nguyen Van Thiet also identified among the deceased.
Two other employees, Tran Van Hoa and Pham Van Hoang, remain hospitalised at Bach Mai Hospital receiving treatment.
Government Response and Safety Directives
On July 19, Vice Chairman Cao Van Cuong of the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee led a multi-agency inspection team to the site. He issued Official Dispatch No. 14559/UBND-NNMT, mandating a full investigation into the accident's cause and a province-wide review of labour safety standards in livestock operations.
The Department of Home Affairs has been instructed to inspect occupational safety compliance at Dabaco and other large-scale farms in the region. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development must oversee disinfection of the facility, which currently houses approximately 150,000 pigs.
Provincial police are conducting an objective investigation into the planning, construction, and operational safety protocols of the facility to determine whether any regulations were violated.
When investigators arrive after a serious incident, one of the first things they check is whether adequate risk assessments were in place and properly documented. Many businesses discover critical gaps in their safety paperwork only after it's too late. A free Risk Assessment Toolkit with 41 ready-to-use templates and checklists helps you identify hazards, implement controls and keep everything compliant. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit
A History of Regulatory Scrutiny
The Dabaco Thanh Hoa pig farm is a major livestock project approved in 2021 with a total investment of 773 billion VND. Spanning 50 hectares, the facility is designed to hold 5,600 sows and produce more than 158,000 market pigs annually.
Operations began in October 2022 as part of the Dabaco Vietnam Group's breeding and commercial pig farming network. However, the farm has faced previous regulatory action: in October 2024, the company was fined over 216 million VND for environmental violations.
Following the latest incident, commune authorities have requested that Dabaco suspend operations in the affected area to preserve the scene for the ongoing investigation.
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