Factory fire in Hanoi, 8 people died

At about 2:15 a.m. on April 12, a factory in lane 1 Dai Linh, Trung Van ward (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) caught fire fiercely.

Authorities mobilized more than 300 people including fire fighters, police, and militia to put out the fire. However, because the factory was located hundreds of meters deep in a residential area, and contained many flammable materials such as plastic and wooden items, the fire quickly spread.

By 4am, the fire was basically under control. However, all four factory buildings were burned down, including: the cold storage workshop of the Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Joint Stock Company; the desiccant production workshop of Phuong Lan Company Limited; the finished wooden furniture warehouse and the plastic trash bin production workshop of the 79 Environmental Company. The total area burned was about 1,000 m².

Police are moving in to search for missing people. Initially, authorities determined that there were 8 dead, all in the plastic trash bin factory of Environmental Company 79.

The identities of the 8 people present at the factory at the time of the fire include:Luong Quoc Dan (born in 1984, company worker);Luong Van Viet (born in 1986, company worker);Tran Thi Lan (born in 1990, wife of Luong Van Viet);Luong Cong Minh (born in 2014, son of Mr. Viet);Luong Anh Tuan (born in 2018, son of Mr. Viet); Luong Quoc Tuan (born in 1985);Tran Van Hai (about 20 years old, a worker of the company) andLe Van Hai (about 22 years old, worker of the company)).

4 factories located next to each other. Photo: Pham Du

Equipment in the factory burned down, roofing sheets fell down. Photo: Contributor

All eight people were reported dead. By 10:40 a.m. on April 12, rescue teams had found six bodies of victims in the fire.

Before that, at about 9am the same day, the Fire Police and Rescue Force found the bodies of 3 victims in the fire and some others were still missing. The identities of the 3 victims were determined to be Ms. Tran Thi L (born in 1990, a worker at Environmental Company 79), Luong Cong M (born in 2014) and Luong Anh T (born in 2018). The 3 victims were mother and daughter.

By 10:40, authorities had brought 6 fire victims out. Photo: Zing.vn

Currently, the units are organizing to bring the victims' bodies to the 19/8 Hospital of the Ministry of Public Security.

Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung and the City Police Department were present at the scene to direct the rescue work. Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung requested to continue spraying water to cool the victims out of the scene, transfer them to Hospital 198, and hand over to the police to organize identification and clarify their identities. In case of unidentification, DNA testing must be done.

In the immediate future, the city will support each victim's family with 10 million VND to help with funeral arrangements; assign the People's Committee of Nam Tu Liem District to direct the ward and related units to organize support, visit and offer condolences to the victims' families. Assign the City Police to organize a crime scene investigation, clarify the cause of the fire, and handle it according to the law.

Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung arrived at the scene to direct the fire response. Photo: Contributor