Inferno causes millions of dollars damage at Vietnamese power plant

By Cuu Long   March 7, 2018 | 08:16 pm PT
Inferno causes millions of dollars damage at Vietnamese power plant
Fire sends thick smoke at a thermal power plant in Tra Vinh Province on Wednesday. Photo by VnExpress/Van Phuc
Workers clambered down ropes from the top of a $10 million tower which was under construction.

A massive fire that forced workers to flee from construction of a thermal power plant on Wednesday caused losses worth millions of dollars, authorities said.

Officials in the southern province of Tra Vinh said the fire damaged a tower designed to deal with sulfur dioxide emissions that had cost $10 million and was 70 percent complete.

The fire started at the top of the 30-meter (98 feet) tower on Wednesday morning, prompting dozens of workers to make their escape by swinging down on ropes.

An investigation suggested that sparks caused by welding were responsible for starting the fire, which took more than two hours to extinguish. No one was hurt and a full damage report is pending.

State-owned monopoly Vietnam Electricity, the plant's investor, said all the damage was insured.

The Duyen Hai 3 power plant is undergoing expansion work which started more than three years ago with investment of more than $1 billion, and is scheduled for completion later this year.

The new 660 MW plant is part of a four-plant complex in the province, which will have a combined capacity of nearly 4,500 MW.

Vietnam depends on hydro and thermal power plants for most of its electricity demands, despite environmental concerns raised by both domestic and international communities.

 
 
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