Firefighters stamp out tanker blaze in Hai Phong port city

Hai Phong, March 12 (VNA) – Firefighters successfully stamped out the blaze of a tanker at Port K99 in in Hai An district, the northern port city of Hai Phong on early March 11 after eight hours of battling. According to the municipal People’s Committee, the fire broke out at 4:30 pm on March 10 on Hai Ha 18 oil tanker which was carrying 900 cubic metres of A92 petrol. When the incident happened, the tanker was pumping petrol ashore. However, a fuel pump was malfunctioned, so the process was stopped for the ship to be pulled out of the wharf for repair. An explosion occurred immediately after that, leading to fire. Right after the incident, Minister of Public Security To Lam, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People’s Council Le Van Thanh, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tung, and Vice Chairmen of the municipal People’s Committee Pham Van Ha and Nguyen Van Thanh, came to the scene to direct firefighting efforts. More than 400 firefighters and 15 fire trucks were sent to put the fire under control. According to the initial information, no human losses have been reported so far and the tanker has been removed to a safe area. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also sent a dispatch to the National Committee on Incident, Disaster Response and Search and Rescue, the Ministries of Public Security, National Defence, and Transport, and the People’s Committee of Hai Phong, requesting them to work out all measures to prevent the blaze from spreading to other areas and ensure absolute safety for nearby residents./.