Hundreds left homeless in delta fire

A fire, possibly caused by an electrical short circuit, gutted more than 50 houses in Dinh An town in the Mekong Delta Sunday, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

Local residents said the blaze first broke out in a locked house at 3 pm and quickly spread to neighboring houses.

It took firefighters more than two hours to put it out.

Local authorities said that no one was reported killed or injured and that the people who lost their homes had been moved into the local cultural house, schools, and the people’s committee office.

They had been provided with food and water, they added.

1 dead, 7 injured in hotel lobby collapse

One was killed and seven others sustained serious injuries following a construction accident at a hotel in the central province of Ha Tinh around 3 pm on Sunday afternoon.

Photo: VNN

Le Thi Mai, a 42-year-old woman from Loc Ha District, was confirmed dead by Nguyen Tuan, director of Ha Tinh General Hospital.

The other seven were pulled out alive from the wreckage after 5 hour rescue efforts by local authorities.

The hotel, which is developed by Hai Linh Join Stock Company based in the province, has seven floors and is undergoing renovation.

Preliminary investigation has shown reckless construction might have caused the disaster.

Here is the list of the injured, all of whom are locals:

1. Vo Thi Hien, 35 years old

2. Nguyen Van Dong, 46

3. Nguyen Huy Thach, 33

4. Nguyen Thanh Binh, 48

5. Nguyen Dinh Dien, 44

6. La Van Chinh, 33

7. Dang Thanh Que, 46

Grand requiem held for heroic martyrs

A grand requiem was held at the historical relic site of Lao Bao prison in the central province of Quang Tri on October 1-2 to commemorate heroic martyrs.

The two-day event was organised by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) in coordination with the Quang Tri provincial Buddhist chapter. It was attended by local officials, martyrs’ families, and hundreds of monks, nuns and Buddhist followers.

More than 10,000 candles were lit up to pay tribute to the fallen combatants who died on Quang Tri’s battlefields for national independence and freedom during the past war.

Lao Bao prison was built in 1908 on an area of about 10 hectares to detain communist soldiers during the past resistance war against French colonialists.

Three kids drown at Hanoi construction site

Three children were tragically killed when they tried to bathe in a large pit filled with rainwater at a construction site in Hanoi yesterday afternoon, Oct 2.

Sisters Do Thi Thu Hoa, 11, and Do Thi Chung Thuy, 10, and their two friends Do Thi Hien, 11, and Do Thi Thu Phuong, 10, were wandering around the site of a bridge and tunnel construction project in Thanh Xuan Commune, Soc Son District, when they discovered the pool of water.

Hoa, Thuy and Phuong jumped in while Hien did not.

When her three friends appeared to drown, Hien rushed to the commune to report to locals who called rescuers to the scene, but the girls were dead by then.

The pit was deep and Hien said none of the three could swim.

There is a warning sign near the pit which is also surrounded by a fence, but there had been no security guards on duty at the time of the accident, local authorities said.

The girls’ bodies were buried by their families yesterday evening and police are investigating the accident.

A similar tragedy had occurred in Hanoi on August 14 when four boys aged 11 to 14 died after jumping into an unfenced pit filled with rain water at a construction site in Phu Do Village in Me Tri Commune.

There had been no warning sign at the site, local authorities said.

Foreign diplomats urged to re-register for cars

The Ministry of Public Security’s Road and Railway Police Department has urged 521 foreign diplomats to re-register for their cars whose use has been expired.

According to the department, many diplomatic cars have recently been sold to people who are not eligible for diplomatic immunity to continue to use without re-registration, causing a loss of billions of dongs (VND1 billion = $48,000) in import taxes and registration fees.

The department said those who fail to re-register for their cars would be penalized according to laws.

According to an estimate of the Ministry of Finance, about 1,200 diplomatic cars are being used for wrong purposes or by people who are not entitled to use such cars.

For example, Phu Tho Province’s Police Department are detaining 4 cars and 13 motorbikes bearing diplomatic number plates that have been bought or borrowed by Vietnamese citizens from members of foreign diplomatic agencies in Vietnam.

The Phu Tho police said it had asked the Foreign Ministry to verify the ownerships of these vehicles.

Luxembourg aids rural development project

The Luxembourg-funded project on rural development has benefited local people in Quang Dien district of central Thua Thien-Hue province.

The project has a total capital of US$4.75 million, of which US$4 million was provided by the Luxembourg government and the rest sourced from local budget.

Starting in July 2007, the project has helped improve plan-making capacity, budget management and administrative reform of the local administration. As a result, over 6,000 local people were provided with plan-making skills, while 40 roads, one pumping station and 21 schools were built. 

The Luxembourg government and Thua Thien-Hue province have agreed to extend the project until the end of June next year instead of December 31, 2011 as scheduled.

Central, southern cities clean up environment

About 1,700 people gathered to collect garbage and clear sewage systems in environmental campaigns launched in Quang Nam Province, and Da Nang and Can Tho cities Saturday morning.

In Quang Nam, nearly 500 volunteers from hotels, tourism companies, and schools in Hoi An city participated in the “Green Day: Eco-tours without Plastic Bags” campaign jointly organized by Hoi An Ecotours, Victoria Hotel, and the local Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

They collected plastic bags and litter on a number of streets, on Cua Dai Beach, and in the coconut forest along the Truong Giang River.

In Da Nang City, the local Department of Natural Resources and Environment also kicked off a week-long campaign to dredge and clear the sewerage system in residential areas with the participation of 1,000 youths.

Meanwhile, 140 volunteers from Victoria Hotel, universities and a number of foreigners collected 7 tons of garbage along the Can Tho River as part of the “Green Victoria Day” campaign in Can Tho City.

Hanoi man burns himself after fight with wife

40-year-old Do Van Nam in Long Bien District, Hanoi burned himself to death and set his house on fire at 8 am Sunday morning after having a fight with his wife.

According to neighbors, Nam fought with his wife, 38-year-old Hoang Thi Chi, this morning and then poured 20 liters of petrol on his body.

Chi cried for help but Nam had already lit up the lighter and burned himself. Chi picked up her 6-year-old daughter and ran outside.

An explosion was heard and the house, which is also a grocery store, was set on fire.

Nam had already died when the police and firefighters came to his rescue.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre