Police officer Phung Quang Tuyen said 37 others were injured today, 23 seriously, in Tam Duong District in Lai Chau province when cables on one side of the suspension bridge snapped, causing the group to fall some 20 metres onto rocks.
The coffin containing the body of a village official was also thrown into the shallow stream, he said.
The bridge was about a year old.
An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway, Tuyen said.