An abandoned floating restaurant on Hanoi’s West Lake burnt down on May 2.

Police in Tay Ho District told Dan Tri that the incident occurred at around 11.15 am.

"We arrived after the fire had already spread over 100 metres of the restaurant, with smoke reaching dozens of metres high," police said. "The fire was controlled at about 11.50 am." 

The boat which was left near the Ho Tay Water Park has been abandoned for a long time, and no losses reported.

The boat fire was close to Sen Tay Ho Restaurant.

Police are further investigating the cause of the fire.

Many boats have been left to deteriorate at Hanoi’s West Lake while owners are still waiting for decisions from local authorities.

Hanoi authorities asked Tay Ho People's Committee to shut down businesses and farming activities on the West Lake and relocated floating restaurants to Nhat Tan Ward by February 15, 2017, following a spate of fish deaths. Tay Ho District authorities were also asked to remove all boats from the lake in the first quarter of 2017 to protect the environment.

However, even though many businesses had to shut down, most of the boats have been abandoned on the lake and are rusting.

A business owner claimed they had suffered several billions of VND in losses since the boat was still good for use. They filed a report to the local authorities in mid-2017 to ask about the decision over the boats but received no feedback.

During a meeting held late last year with Hanoi Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung, he had asked the business owners to report on their boat and condition. Most of the business owners expressed the desire to be able to keep working on West Lake and promised to follow all regulations.

Speaking with local media last November, Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy head of the West Lake Management Board said they were working on the solution and would report to the district authorities. Yet no decision has been made until now. Dtinews