Quarry blast injures two people, damages dozens of houses

Anxious about the quarry

Having just returned from the hospital, Ms. Cut Thi Anh (37 years old, Kim Da village, Pha Danh commune, Ky Son district) is still in shock when recalling the mine explosion at the quarry a few days ago. Ms. Anh is one of two people injured in this incident. Lifting her shirt, pointing to the bruises and scratches all over her body, Ms. Anh said that the wounds are still very painful and she cannot walk normally. Meanwhile, her feet are also swollen.

Ms. Anh with swollen feet, bruises and scratches all over her body. Photo: Tien Hung

Ms. Anh said, as usual, on the evening of April 3, after finishing dinner, she sat on the porch with her neighbors watching vehicles passing by on Highway 16. At this time, a loud explosion came from the quarry of Hong Truong Company Ltd. - more than 300 meters from Ms. Anh's house. The explosion did not surprise Ms. Anh and her neighbors, because living next to the quarry, they had long been familiar with this scene. However, this time, after the loud explosion, there was the sound of large and small stones flying down to Kim Da village. "I was hit by 6 stones that pierced the roof of my house. I immediately ran into the house to hide, then was taken to the hospital. It was like an ambush. No one could escape in time," Ms. Anh said.

Mrs. Thuong holds stones in her hand that are being shot at her. Photo: Tien Hung

Not far from Ms. Anh's house, Ms. Ven Thi Thuong (55 years old) still cannot walk normally. With great effort, she can only limp around the house. "It hurts a lot, uncle. Luckily, the rocks did not hit her head and were only small stones," Ms. Thuong said, pointing to the bruises and scratches on her calf. Not only were she injured, but her husband's house was also severely damaged after the mine explosion. A series of fibro-cement panels were punctured by the rocks. Next to that, Ms. Thuong's daughter's house was in even worse condition, with nearly half of the roof having to be replaced. "At that time, my 12-year-old niece was sleeping on the bed and was hit by rocks that pierced the roof. Luckily, she was covered with a blanket at the time so she was not injured," Ms. Thuong added.

According to Nghe An Newspaper reporters, 2 days after the mine explosion, a series of large and small rocks and boulders were still lying scattered all over the roads and corners of Kim Da village. There were rocks with a diameter of about 70cm, falling into the village, creating deep holes.

A rock weighing about 30kg and nearly half a meter in diameter was thrown a few meters away from Mr. Tinh's house. Photo: Tien Hung

On the crossroads and corners of Kim Da village, there are still large and small rocks scattered after the mine explosion. Photo: Tien Hung

At Moong Van Nguyet’s house, a large rock destroyed a corner of the house, then the rock also fell onto Nhang Van Anh’s house at the foot of the mountain, also severely damaging the tiled roof. Fortunately, Anh’s whole family had gone to work far away, so no one was home.

Mr. Ven Van Tinh (40 years old) said that at the time of the accident, fortunately his whole family had not returned from the field. When he returned, he discovered a rock that had pierced the roof of his house and damaged his motorbike. A few meters away from Mr. Tinh's house, another rock measuring nearly 50cm in diameter and weighing about 30kg fell down, destroying a large area of ​​land.

When we arrived, Hong Truong Company was sending workers to bring fiber cement sheets to re-roof the houses. It is estimated that about 150 fiber cement sheets need to be replaced. “After replacing the damaged fiber cement sheets, the company compensated each house with a chicken. This chicken is used as an offering according to the Khmu people’s custom every time they repair their house,” Tinh added.

Workers are replacing damaged fiber cement panels. It is estimated that about 150 fiber cement panels were punctured by rocks. Photo: Tien Hung

A hole in the roof caused by a mine explosion. Photo: Tien Hung

Need to ensure safety for people

According to the report of the People's Committee of Pha Danh commune, Hong Truong Company Limited specializes in stone production and exploitation. After receiving the news, the People's Committee of the commune established a team to go to the scene to coordinate with the Village Management Board and the people of Kim Da village to do ideological work for the people. "In addition to supporting the injured to go to the hospital, we also have to reassure the people to avoid the risk of clashes between local people and the company's people. As well as mobilizing people to stay at home and not go elsewhere," said a leader of Pha Danh commune.

According to statistics from Pha Danh commune, 23 houses were affected and damaged, such as broken fibro cement panels, tiles, broken beams and planks. The incident also injured 2 people.

A house in Kim Da village, behind is the quarry of Hong Truong Company. Photo: Tien Hung

According to the reporter's investigation, Hong Truong Company Limited was licensed to exploit stone here since 2004. Next to it is a stone quarry of another enterprise. The stone quarry area of ​​Hong Truong Company Limited is only about 200m from the nearest house. However, this blast caused large and small rocks to fly nearly 400m away. In addition, this is not the first time this company has exploded, causing rocks to fly down to Kim Da village. "It has happened many times before. But this is the most serious time," said Mr. Ven Van Bun (55 years old).

Mr. Bun next to his daughter's house, where nearly half of the roof had to be replaced. Photo: Tien Hung

Not only are they threatened by mine explosions, the people here also have to endure dust and noise pollution from the quarry. Not to mention, heavy rains cause fine rocks from the quarry to flow down to the fields of the people next door, making it impossible for them to produce. According to the leaders of Pha Danh commune, for many years now, in most of the meetings with voters, people have expressed their frustration about these situations. However, to date, they have not been resolved.

Mr. Le Hong Nhi - Director of Hong Truong Company Limited, the company's blasting that caused rocks to fall on Kim Da village was just an accident. "This was just a technical error, because the workers drilled too thinly when blasting. After the incident, we coordinated with the local authorities to fix the damage," Mr. Nhi said, adding that the dust and noise pollution that people complained about were unavoidable when living near the quarry.

Dust and fine rocks cover a long stretch of Highway 16 past the quarry. Photo: Tien Hung

The quarry of Hong Truong Company Ltd. has been operating for nearly 20 years. People have complained many times. Photo: Tien Hung

According to the leaders of Pha Danh commune, after the incident, the locality requested the company to immediately remedy the losses of the people, specifically the houses that were slightly affected, such as the fibro cement tanks and tiles. As for the houses that were severely affected, the company negotiated with the homeowners and promised to remedy them as soon as possible. According to the estimate of the People's Committee of Pha Danh commune, the total damage to property, crops, material and spiritual life of the people of Kim Da village caused by Hong Truong Company's blasting is about 120 million VND. Pha Danh commune authorities also requested the authorities at all levels to direct Hong Truong Company to have a plan to drill and blast to ensure safety for the residential area as well as the people of Kim Da village. Or consider the plan to evacuate people from this area.

National Highway 16 was also damaged after rocks were thrown down, creating "potholes". Photo: Tien Hung

People ran in panic after the mine explosion. Nearby, rocks fell onto Highway 16. Luckily, no passersby were injured. Photo: CTV

The list of Pha Danh commune's statistics is incomplete after the incident. Photo: Tien Hung