Thousands evacuated in Hanoi fire
HANOI - Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes when a fire ripped through a neighbourhood in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, destroying 39 houses, an official said today.
No-one was injured in yesterday's blaze, but narrow streets hindered firefighters' efforts. It took them nearly three hours to extinguish the fire, said the official from Binh Thanh District's People's Committee on condition of anonymity. Police are still investigating the cause, but some witnesses have said the fire may have started from cooking in one of the houses - many of which are constructed with wooden walls and roofed with oiled papers, she said.
No damage estimate has been given, the official said. Some victims have temporarily moved into tents set up by government while others have gone to stay with neighbours, she said, adding the local government has provided 1 million dong ($A83) for each family whose house was destroyed.
Officials in Ho Chi Minh City, the southern financial hub of nearly 7 million people, have been working to enforce fire codes after an October 2002 blaze swept through the International Trade Centre, killing 60 people. It was the country's worst fire since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
The Associated Press - January 5, 2004
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