An extensive fire on Saturday hit two companies in Quang Minh industrial zone based in Hanoi capital’s Me Linh District. There were no immediate reports of human casualties or property damage.

Local residents detected the flames at some 6:30pm which sent a huge plume of black smoke into the sky.  

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper reporter at the scene said the blaze first broke out at Nippon Express VN company and later spread to Woodsand, another company specialized in manufacturing wood products.

Several properties and goods of the two companies have been evacuated whereas dozens of fire trucks have been deployed to the scene.  

The reporter said that as of 11pm, about 1,000 people were seen managing to subdue the conflagration.

Lieutenant Colonel Luu Bai Hai, a local police officer at the scene, said this is the largest fire ever recorded in Me Linh district.

A huge blaze which broke out at a company in Quang Minh industrial zone sent thick black plumes of smoke high into the air seen in a photo taken on October 18, 2014. Photos: Tuoi Tre

On the same day, a separate fire swept through a wood carving products factory located on Duong Dinh Nghe Street in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, close to 72-storey Keangnam Building, the tallest building in the country. The factory, a nearby garage, and several shops were nearly burnt down during the blaze, according to local people.  

As of 11:40, the fire was in control.

Smoke is seen rising from a fire at a wood carving products factory close to the 72-storey Keangnam Building. Photo: Tuoi Tre

To be updated…