Vietnam land protester `critical` after being crushed by bulldozer

Hanoi: A woman was in critical condition after being run over by a bulldozer on Friday during a protest over land compensation in northern Vietnam that turned violent, state media said.

Dramatic footage uploaded to YouTube showed the woman`s torso trapped under the bulldozer`s tracks at the protest at an industrial park in Hai Duong province, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) southeast of Hanoi. 

"The victim was immediately brought to Hai Duong provincial hospital in critical condition," said Giadinh.net, a state-run news website.

The woman, identified as Le Thi Cham, was one of a group of farmers protesting the "low compensation rate" offered for farmland seized to make the Cam Dien industrial zone, the Thanh Nien newspaper said.

In the video, other protesters are seen pelting the bulldozer`s cab with rocks and shouting for the driver to stop the vehicle moving, as others attempt to lift the tracks and free the woman.

Multiple police and local officials in the area were not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP. 

Property is a divisive issue in Communist Vietnam, where all land is owned by the state and usage rights are not always clear or well-protected.

People must rely on land use rights certificates not outright land titles, but in reality they offer limited protection.

Millions of rural tenants are vulnerable to the whims of local officials, who can reclaim land for vaguely-defined "public interest" reasons, which experts say leads to widespread local corruption. 

Disputes over property being seized by the state for development projects have on many occasions erupted into violence between local communities and officials.

More than 70 percent of all complaints lodged with authorities nationwide concern land.