Emergency evacuation of people living around Hai Duong Trade Center

On the morning of September 18, loudspeakers issued an order to evacuate households around the Hai Duong Trade Center, while part of the building had collapsed. The evacuation decision was announced by the Hai Duong City People's Committee early this morning, according to which hundreds of households around the Trade Center must evacuate urgently to "ensure the safety of life and property".

The households that had to be evacuated all had solid, high-rise houses adjacent to the back and right sides of the Trade Center. The police and authorities of Le Thanh Nghi and Tran Phu wards were ordered to immediately propagate and mobilize people to evacuate; if they did not cooperate, they would be forced to do so.

According to observations at the scene, throughout the morning of September 18, the authorities had completed the evacuation of households at the back of the Trade Center, but households on the right side (Mac Thi Buoi Street) had not yet been evacuated. Evacuated households should contact their own temporary accommodation, and in case there is no accommodation, the authorities will arrange accommodation within the ward.

Meanwhile, the central building has seen walls and ceilings collapse in some places. However, according to Hai Duong newspaper, authorities have reached the third floor of the shopping mall and discovered that some kiosks have not been burned down by the fire. The third floor is where the clothing stalls are located, and the kiosks are still intact, with no signs of being scorched by the fire.

Many kiosks on the 3rd floor of Hai Duong Trade Center were not burned down.
Photo: Hai Duong.

Also this morning, at the headquarters of the People's Committee of Le Thanh Nghi Ward, the city government began handing out 13 million VND in support to small businesses operating in the commercial center. Due to the large number of small businesses, the handover is expected to last until the end of the afternoon.

Earlier, on the morning of September 17, experts from the Institute of Criminal Science (Ministry of Public Security) were present at the scene of the fire. The first area where the fire started was carefully inspected. This is where the fabric kiosk on the first floor was located, where the security team said they had discovered the fire. It is expected that the Institute of Criminal Science will work in Hai Duong for 2-3 days to find the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, the State Appraisal Department of Construction Quality, after inspecting the Hai Duong Trade Center site, determined that the structure was severely damaged, the protective concrete layer separated from the steel reinforcement, some beams were sagging, and the building was at high risk of collapse.

Director Le Quang Hung warned that if the building collapsed, the area of ​​impact could be several hundred meters away, affecting surrounding structures.

According to (Vnexpress) - KN