VietNamNet Bridge - Many households in Village 9, Long Ha commune, Bu Gia Map district in the central province of Binh Phuoc are living in fear because their wells can ignite at any time since they are full of gasoline.

Water with gasoline.

According to local police, these wells are polluted with gasoline from a nearby gas station. The leaked gas tank is 10-15m deep and gas from the tank polluted an area of about 70sq.m in radius. The gasoline has absorbed into over ten wells in the area.

Earlier, some residents living around the petrol station detected gas in their wells so they reported the incident to the police. They did not dare to cook for fear of their houses would ignite at any time.

Mr. Hoang Tien Yen, one of the most affected households, said that about 20 days ago, when he pumped water from the well, he smelled gasoline in the water so he did not dare to use the water. His neighbors found the same thing. Yen has had to travel over one kilometer to take water from his relative’s home.

"These days we are living in fear because we don’t know when the gasoline in our wells will inflame," he said.

Mrs. Can Thi Ngai, who lives near the petrol station, said that her well was full of petrol. “We have used this well for over ten years. Suddenly in the past three weeks, it is full of gas. The water blazed when we burned it. We have asked the authorities to handle it quickly because we cannot live like this any longer," she said.

The petrol station has been closed.

Many households also worried: "We are living with death. Just a spark could accidentally burn this area," one said.

The petrol station, named Hong Hang, is located close to the center of Long Ha commune, Bu Gia Map district. The owner – Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thuy - apologized to all affected families and promised to solve the incident.

According to Thuy, the leaked gas tank contained about 7,000 liters of gasoline and about 3,000 liters were absorbed into the soil.

Mr. Le Van Toan, deputy chief police of Long Ha commune said that the authorities closed the petrol station to deal with the gas leakage.

"It will be difficult and will take a long time to remedy the incident because the amount of leaked gas is huge and it is deep underground," Toan said.

Le Ha