Explosion injures two at Vietnam power plant

By Tu Huynh, Phuoc Tuan   March 7, 2017 | 04:22 am PT
The incident is believed to have been caused by workers welding in a chimney.

An explosion at the construction site of a coal-fired power plant hospitalized two workers in central Vietnam on Tuesday morning.

Tran Kim Hoan, 40, and Tran Quy Trai, 28, suffered burns and were sent to a local hospital for treatment, according to state-owned Vietnam Electricity, or EVN. The company is the investor in the Vinh Tan 4 power plant in the central province of Binh Thuan.

The fire erupted in a chimney at the 1,200-MW project at 10:45 a.m. and took 45 minutes to bring under control, EVN said.

Workers welding in the chimney had caused the incident, EVN added.

Image of the incident in the Vinh Tan 4 power plant on March 7, 2017. Photo by Vnexpress

Image of the incident at the Vinh Tan 4 power plant on March 7, 2017. Photo by Vnexpress

EVN and the project's main contractors, South Korea's Doosan and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, along with local firms Pacific Ocean Engineering JSC and Power Engineering and Consulting 2 JSC, held a ground-breaking ceremony to start work at the $1.6-billion project in March 2014.

The two 600-MW units are scheduled for commercial operations next year.

Vinh Tan 4 is one of four power projects at the Vinh Tan Power Center.

In April 2015, thousands of local people blockaded National Highway No 1A for hours to protest against the coal dust and cinders being emitted from Vinh Tan 2, another power project that went into operation in early 2014.

Related news:

The blacklist: Vietnam names and shames projects with high pollution risks

Vietnam's hydropower dam fined $5,200 for deadly water discharge

 
 
go to top