Major blaze shuts down HCMC domestic terminal

A section of the burnt roof at the domestic terminal undergoes repairs at the Tan Son Nhat Airport Though no casualties have been reported, the fire has exposed shoddy firefighting preparedness at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

A fire that broke out in the early hours of the morning Monday closed the domestic terminal at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport and delayed many flights. The blaze occurred at around 2:50 a.m. on the first floor of the domestic terminal building. But it took about 40 minutes for the firefighters to arrive at the scene, because it received the emergency signal from airport authorities only at about 3:17 a.m., Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Le Tan Buu, deputy chief of the HCMC Department of Fire Prevention Police, said at a press briefing Monday. It was 4:30 a.m. when 47 fire engines and some 700 firefighters dispatched to the scene were able to bring the fire under control. The fire was quelled completely at 6 a.m., according to a statement released by the Southern Airport Authority. All roads leading to the airport were cordoned off until 9 a.m. Monday. The fire destroyed a 200-squaremeter area of the domestic terminal and several other stores selling souvenirs, handicrafts, clothes, candy, and fruits at the airport, authorities said. No fatalities or injuries were reported but the full extent of the damage was yet to be calculated, they added. The cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet, but the Ministry of Transport Monday ruled out any terrorism or vandalism plots in this regard, a local newswire reported. HCMC’s vice mayor Nguyen Trung Tin also arrived at the scene Monday to supervise repair work. Flights grounded Airport operations were disrupted and many flights delayed during the day, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport. Seventeen flights were delayed as a result of the fire with the latest grounded for one hour and five minutes. Luong Hoai Nam, CEO of private airline Jetstar Pacific, told Thanh Nien the carrier had to move passengers of at least 12 flights departing for Hanoi or Da Nang to the international terminal to continue their trips. Many affected passengers were caught in the melee at the airport Monday as they did not realize the fire had happened, Nam said. The Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO), under Vietnam Airlines, also said Monday services would continue as normal with domestic flights operating out of the international terminal. Lai Xuan Thanh, deputy chief of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) also said all domestic flights had resumed Monday. The Southern Airport Authority (SAA) would temporarily close the domestic terminal but it was CAAV which would decide upon the timeframe of closure, Thanh told another local newswire Monday. He said that concerned agencies would work out solutions to resume the operation of the domestic terminal today. Delayed alarm Speaking at a press briefing Monday, Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Le Tan Buu, deputy chief of the HCMC Department of Fire Prevention Police, slammed the time taken to report the fire by Tan Son Nhat Airport authorities, suggesting the damage could have been less severe if firefighters had rushed to the scene earlier. The water source available at the airport was also inadequate, Buu said. “The firefighters had to source the water from other reservoirs and depots some 300 meters far away from the airport,” Buu said. Buu said the airport had installed fire alarms and an automatic fire prevention system; but authorities will check to see whether they were operable, Buu said. Twelve gas cylinders each weighing 48 kilograms were also found at the fire scene and removed to safety immediately. Source: Thanh Nien, Agencies