VietNamNet Bridge – According to Mr. Ha Ke San - Vice Chairman of Phu Tho province, by 8am on October 13, the province's rescuers identified 24 deaths and 97 injured people in the explosions at the firework warehouse in Thanh Ba district.

Phu Tho: At least 15 people died in firework warehouse explosion

A private house located near the firework warehouse lost the roof in the explosion.

San said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai was in Phu Tho on the morning of October 13 to directly handle the consequences of the explosions.

According to San, 33 injured victims were being treated at hospitals in Phu Tho and the remaining people were transferred to hospitals in Hanoi.

"By the evening of October 12, rescuers and specialized dogs still looked for victims at the scene. We have mobilized all means and forces in the area to respond promptly,” San said.

At least 300 officers were sent to the scene by the local authorities.

Regarding the compensation for the victims, San said the local government gave some money to victim families. The Ministry of Defense will decide the official assistance for the victims.

The cause of the explosion is originally identified by spontaneous technical factors at the firework enterprise of Z121 factory. The entire enterprise was burnt down and collapsed. Thankfully, the nearby material storage for weapon manufacturing was unaffected.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Lam, Chairman of the General Department of Defense Industry, reported to Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai on the morning of October 13 that the firework warehouse explosion caused damage worth VND52 billion (over $2.5 million).

Lam said there was nobody at the firework warehouse at the time of the explosion but many people working in the nearby warehouses died and were injured.

In the afternoon on October 12, 17 corpses were brought home for funerals and the other victims who were not identified yet were transported to the 103 Military Hospital for autopsies.

Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai at the scene.

Lieutenant General Truong Quang Khanh said that last night, after checking the number of workers who were in the explosion area at the time of the incident, the authorities confirmed that nobody was trapped at the scene.

General Khanh said the Defense Ministry has always placed priority on safety and this was fully aware. The incident was caused by spontaneous fire of firework powder in the warehouse. “This is the most tragic accident in the past 15 years," said General Khanh.

The Vietnam Insurance Group (Bao Viet) said more than 3,000 employees of the firework enterprise of Z121 Factory are insured, at the level of VND20 million ($1,000)/person.

The group’s representative said that they would quickly pay insurance for the victims and their families.

The explosion occurred at 8am on October 12. Z121 plant, a unit of the Ministry of Defense, which is the only producer and supplier of fireworks for national holidays in Vietnam.

Firework enterprise destroyed completely after the explosion:

Compiled by P. Lan

Photo: VietNamNet/VNE/Dantri