Dozens affected by landfill fire in Nghe An

July 02, 2018 | 09:17

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Dozens of people in Nghe An Province have fallen sick and need medical treatment because of smoke and fumes from a local landfill fire.

dozens affected by landfill fire in nghe an

A huge fire broke out at the local dumping site in Nghe An

Nguyen Van Chuong, vice chairman of Ngoc Son Commune People's Committee, said fire fighters and local people had helped when a fire broke out at the local dumping site. Five excavators, six tankers and five pumps had brought the fire under control.

According to the locals, some small fires were detected on June 25 and spread to the whole five hectare landfill. 10 firefighters were sent to the scene, however, since the landfill is located far away from water sources, the firefighters faced many difficulties.

Dry weather and strong wind also made the firefighting more difficult. Four days later, there was still fire under the massive rubbish piles, released a huge amount of smoke into the air.

On June 28, the smoke from the landfill reached the residential area in Ngoc Son Commune which is 200 metres away. Dozens of people, mostly elderly and children, fell ill.

Dr Ho Van Tuyen from Ngoc Son Medical Centre said they received 30 patients on June 27 and 28. Many have breathing problems and low blood pressure. They have to ask three neighbouring communal medical centres to help with the sudden surge in patients. On June 29, most patients have recovered and released.

The dumping site in Ngoc Son was opened in 2011 at the cost of VND13bn (USD569,000). It was designed to bury the rubbish discharged from seven communes. However, in reality, it receives rubbish from 33 communes and is overloaded, polluting the environment.

Three fires have broken out at the site since early 2018 but this is the largest.

The locals in Quynh Luu District hope that the authorities will build a proper waste treatment plant and have called on people to classify their rubbish.

Dtinews

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