Chinese director detained as boiler explosion kills six in southern Vietnam

By Phuoc Tuan May 2, 2024 | 11:52 pm PT

The area where a boiler explodes at a wood processing factory in Dong Nai Province, May 1, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan

A Chinese male director of a wood processing firm in the southern Dong Nai Province has been detained after police determined that there were violations in management, leading to a boiler explosion that killed six workers.

Binh Minh Wood Production and Trading Company, with over a decade of operation and foreign direct investment, is engaged in the production and trade of wood products.

Directed by Feng Yong, it operates in the field of processing and manufacturing household wood products and employs about 200 workers.

At around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, while 42 workers were on duty, a sudden explosion in the boiler resulted in the death of six people, including one Chinese. All were men aged 32-39.

The accident also injured five other workers.

Initially, the investigating authorities assessed that the explosion was caused by a technical error in the boiler.

The day before the explosion, the boiler malfunctioned, and the company called a maintenance unit to repair it.

The next day, as workers started the boiler, it exploded.