by Vu Kim Chung
30-11-2001
A fire raged through a market area in southern Vietnam, killing one person, injuring another and leaving nearly 200 homeless. The fire early on November 25, 2001 destroyed 41 homes and 73 shops and caused an estimated 63 billion dong (US$1 = 15,050 VND) in damage, said Tran Thanh Hung of the People's Committee of Dam Doi in Vietnam's southernmost province of Ca Mau.
Mr Hung said local authorities provided one million dong to each family whose home was destroyed. Relatives of a 24-year-old man who died in the blaze also received one million dong, he added.
In July, fires in market places in Dam Doi and the neighbouring district of Ngoc Hien in Ca Mau destroyed nearly 200 homes and left nearly 800 people homeless.
Electrical short circuits often cause fires in market areas, which contain many makeshift houses. Corruption electrical inspectors are paid bribes to ignore dangerous connections.