VietNam Society: fireworks

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Monday, November 15, 2010

Hanoi gives fireworks spending to flood victims

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Hanoi has saved VND5 billion (US$257,000) from canceling 29 fireworks displays on its 1,000th birthday party, and part of the sum has been spent as relief aid for flood-affected residents in the central Quang Binh province.

Hoang Manh Hien, deputy chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, told VnExpress newswire Tuesday he gave a total VND2.5 billion, of which VND1.5 billion was saved from canceled fireworks spending, during his visit to Quang Binh the same day.

He said more relief aid will be given to other four provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue, which were hit by floods last week.

On October 5, Hanoi authorities gave VND5 billion as disaster relief to the five central provinces, and they announced to cancel the planned fireworks displays at 29 sites three days later.

The 29 sites were previously chosen for fireworks displays on the symbolic date of October 10, or 10/10/10.

Rain-triggered floods have left 66 people dead, with 17 still missing in the central provinces as of Monday. Quang Binh has reported the worst toll with 45 dead people and 16 missing.

The floods caused an estimated damage worth over VND2.75 trillion (US$141 million), of which some VND1.58 trillion are from Quang Binh.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Hanoi adjusts fireworks display again, tightens security

Hanoi adjusts fireworks display again, tightens security Hanoi authorities have again scaled down a fireworks display planned for Sunday, following a deadly explosion this week, Vietnamnet reported Saturday.

In the latest move, Nguyen The Thao, chairman of Hanoi’s People’s Committee ordered that the display will take place at My Dinh Stadium’s stand B only, instead of both stands B and A.

According to news website VnExpress, most VIP guests, including international delegates, will sit at stand A.

Capital authorities also asked police to set up security around the staging area at stand B, VnExpress said, adding that all security measures for the grand festival will be strengthened as well.

On Wednesday two containers carrying fireworks exploded at the stadium, killing four people – one Singaporean and two Germans, and a Vietnamese.

The incident, according to Hanoi’s Police Department Director Nguyen Duc Nhanh, was caused by “mistakes” during transportation.

Two days after the explosion, Hanoi's committee of the Party announced that the city would cancel fireworks displays at 29 points around the city, except for My Dinh Stadium.

According to the committee, all the funds assigned for the country’s biggest-ever fireworks display, were instead sent to aid flood victims in the central region.

Asked about the possibility of saving money for flooded areas, considering all fireworks have already been imported from foreign countries, Municipal Party Committee Secretary Pham Quang Nghi told Vietnamnet that all fireworks, except for those planned at the stadium, were produced locally.

The city is also saving money by not buying more fireworks from other countries to make up for the loss after the explosion, he stressed.

In fact, municipal authorities have ordered the Hanoi International Manpower Supply and Trade Company Limited (Interserco) to buy new fireworks from Z212 Factory under the Ministry of National Defense, Vietnamnet reported.

Hanoi is also stepping up its fundraising efforts for flood victims in the central region, Nghi added.

So far, the city has sent VND5 billion (US$256,476) to affected provinces, according to Tuoi Tre.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Three foreigners killed in Hanoi fireworks blast

Three foreigners killed in Hanoi fireworks blast Three of four people killed in a firework explosion at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium Wednesday were foreigners, according to the capitol’s police.

One of the victims was the wife of Singaporean-owned Glorious Pte Ltd’s General Director, police said, adding that she was supervising 34 foreign experts as they attempted to set up equipment and devices for a firework display when the explosion occurred.

Two German experts also perished along with an official from the Ministry of National Defense's Z121 Factory, they said.

Four others were injured, one of whom was recently discharged from Vietnam Sports Hospital, according to the facility's chief administrator.

The two containers were carrying fireworks intended for a ceremony designed to celebrate Hanoi’s millennium anniversary.

In the meantime, the Hanoi International Manpower Supply and Trade Company Limited (Interserco), organizer of the display, said they will propose Z121, a firework producer, replace the lost fireworks.

They have also contacted their Chinese partner to import another batch, an Interserco representative said.

However, according the representative, it’s more likely that new fireworks would be provided by Z121, as it would take time to import them from China.

Initial information showed that the containers in question are among three imported from Italy, the US and China by Interserco.

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency, Hanoi Police Department Director Nguyen Duc Nhanh said the fire was caused by “mistakes” made during transportation.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Four die in fireworks explosion

Four die in fireworks explosion Four people were killed and three others injured when two containers of fireworks exploded at My Dinh Stadium before Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday ceremony.

The incident happened at around 11:40 a.m. on Wednesday (October 6) during the capital’s millennial celebrations from October 1 to 10.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, director of Hanoi Police Department, told Vietnam News Agency on the same day that the fire was caused by “mistakes” made during transportation.

He said eight fire trucks were sent to the site to put out the fire while injured people were brought to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.

A Tuoi Tre reporter arrived at the scene around 10 minutes after the accident to find all the makeshift tents in My Dinh Stadium had burnt down and a nearby lawn on fire.

Thanh Minh, a bus driver leading a group of foreign tourists on a guided tour at the time, said he was standing some 200 meters the site when his bus’s windows shattered. He suffered from minor burns on his back and hand, he told the paper.

The explosion sent metal debris flying and windows shattered at the Vietnam Sports Hospital and apartment blocks about 200 meters from the blast, AFP reported.

A woman who lives on the sixth floor of an apartment building in the area told the newswire that she was cooking when she heard “big explosions” and rushed to her balcony where she saw a plume of white smoke.

“The smoke was not like when someone burns something. Many people rushed down to the street to watch. The smoke came from the stadium area. There were about six or seven explosions,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

Lt Gen Nhanh said the explosive was an “unfortunate accident but it would not affect the work of ensuring security during the Thang Long – Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday.”

On late Wednesday, the spokesman for the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in response to media queries over whether a Singaporean national was among the victims.

“An explosion occurred in the vicinity of the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi. The Singapore Embassy in Hanoi is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the local authorities,” the statement said.

“Local authorities have informed the embassy that a Singaporean woman could be one of four fatalities. The embassy is working to verify this, and to ascertain if any other Singaporeans are affected,” it added.

The containers in question are among three with fireworks inside due to be set off at My Dinh Stadium in a display on Sunday, the final day of the millennium celebrations. They were imported from Italy, the US and China by Hanoi International Manpower Supply and Trade Company Limited (INTERSERCO).

The fireworks display at My Dinh Stadium was designed to be the first in a series of 28 at various spots around the city. It was supposed to be the biggest-ever fireworks display in the country.

The ceremony will go ahead as planned on Sunday.

Monday, November 8, 2010

4 killed in Hanoi fireworks blast

Workers at the site of the fireworks explosion at the My Dinh National Stadium

Photo: Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper

Three foreigners and a Vietnamese died when fireworks went off accidentally at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi Wednesday, the police said Thursday, blaming it on careless transport.

They said the victims were German men Tomak Siegfied, 56, and Schinella Karl Heinz, 55, and Singaporean woman Seah Li Sa, 38, but did not release any further information.

The Vietnamese victim, whose given name is Hoai, was an official in the Ministry of National Defense’s Z121 Company, the police added.

Two other Vietnamese and a German who were injured in the blast are being treated in hospital.

The blast happened when two containers of fireworks stored in the stadium for a display Sunday for Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday celebrations went off.

Nguyen Duc Nhanh, director of the Hanoi Police, said the “unfortunate accident” will not affect Sunday’s event.

He said it was caused by “carelessness during transportation” of the two containers of fireworks by the local International Investment Trade and Service Company, or Interserco.

AFP quoted a spokesman from the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin as saying the two dead Germans belonged to a group of 15 Germans working for a Singaporean company.

4 killed in Hanoi fireworks blast