On June 18, Vietnam Digital Television News reported that despite many government directives, fires continued in Hanoi, and many people were burned alive. Experts say it's time for leaders at certain levels to resign.
On the evening of June 16, 2024, a violent fire broke out in a 6-storey residential building at No. 207 Dinh Gong Ha Street, Dinh Gong Fang, Hoang Mai District, Hanoi City, amid heavy rain. After the fire was extinguished, authorities found 4 bodies at the scene.
At the time of the fire, many people were still haunted by the fire that broke out on May 24 in a fifth-floor rental house deep in the alley of Zhongjing Street (Zhonghefang, Paper Bridge County), which had killed 14 people, less than a month after the fire on the night of the 16th.
In September 2023, a tragic fire broke out in a mini apartment building on Giang Ha Street, Thanh Thanh District, Hanoi City, killing 56 people, shocking the whole of Vietnam and abroad, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh rushed to the scene and went to the hospital to visit the injured.
In just over nine months, five fires broke out in Hanoi, killing 81 people. After each incident, the Hanoi government will issue an official letter demanding that the responsibilities of organizations and individuals be clarified and dealt with in accordance with the law.
But so far, the question of who is responsible remains unanswered, and we have not seen any official resignations.
Accountability has been pursued, but no one has yet resigned.
Nguyen Su, a member of the presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, said in an interview with Vietnam Digital TV News that the party committees and leaders of many districts in Hanoi did not fulfill their duties as cadres and party members.
During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh stressed many times that cadres and party members must always uphold a sense of responsibility to the party and the masses, must always care about the lives of the masses, and must care about the people before their happiness. But you let the people live in fear of fires, and more than 80 people died in less than 10 months, are you still worthy of being a cadre and a party member? Mr. Nguyen Su asked such a question.
Nguyen Su stressed that the recent particularly serious fires are the responsibility of governments at all levels in Hanoi.
The expert assessed that the "indulgence" of the authorities created opportunities for the construction of a series of ultra-small apartment projects with bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, etc., fully functional, but without escape routes.
Most of the residents of these residential areas are civil servants, public officials, and general workers. Every household welds iron frames around the balcony to prevent theft, dry clothes, and raise flowers, and these "tiger cages" become self-locking iron walls, so that people have no way to escape in the event of an accident.
"Do the officers on duty see illegal buildings springing up on the streets, which could bring disaster to people at any time? Or is there another reason or benefit? Causing them to deliberately turn a blind eye, turn a blind eye and close an eye? Mr. Nguyen Su said.