Tram Chim National Park Fire: Investigating Mouse Traps at the Scene

Regarding the large fire at Tram Chim National Park, on the evening of June 11, Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Thien, Vice Chairman of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee, chaired an urgent meeting to learn from the fire.

According to Dong Thap province authorities, the cause of the fire was illegal entry and careless use of fire.

Urgent meeting at the People's Committee of Phu Duc commune (Tam Nong, Dong Thap) (Photo: Contributor).

At the meeting, Colonel Bui Be Nam, Deputy Director of Dong Thap Provincial Police, said that from now until tomorrow (June 12), police will ensure that they are on duty at the scene until the fire stops, and then withdraw vehicles and personnel from the National Park.

Initial assessment that the fire was caused by humans, the leader of Dong Thap Provincial Police requested the Provincial People's Committee to direct the unit to continue investigating the cause of the fire.

At the urgent meeting, Vice Chairman of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Phuoc Thien highly appreciated the efforts of the forces participating in fire fighting at Tram Chim National Park, including the urgent evacuation of people living around the forest fire area.

He suggested continuing to arrange forces on duty, handle the fire, and ensure food and drink conditions for the firefighting forces. Rewards will be considered to commend and encourage the spirit of the forces on duty; risk assessments will be organized and lessons learned will be drawn for the future.

Hundreds of police officers tried their best to control the fire (Photo: Contributor).

According to Mr. Thien, in the immediate future, he will find a way to compensate for the loss of 5 motorbikes of the firefighting force; at the same time, he will learn from this incident.

Mr. Thien said that the evidence at the scene of the fire was mostly mousetraps. That is the basis and clue for investigation, handling and possibly applying criminal measures as a deterrent.

On the same afternoon, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Thap province, Mr. Nguyen Van Vu Minh, said that recently, the Dong Thap Provincial Forest Protection Department had forecast the risk of forest fires in Tram Chim National Park; specifically for area A1, the forest fire was forecast at level V (extremely dangerous), with the potential for large fires and rapid spread.

The unit took proactive measures to prevent fire but it still happened.

The initial cause of the fire was determined to be people illegally entering the forest and carelessly using fire.

At 10:45 a.m. on June 11, a fire broke out in subdivision A1 of Tram Chim National Park. About 250 people, including police, military and local people, actively participated in extinguishing the fire.

By 4:00 p.m. the same day, the fire was basically extinguished.

The fire did not cause any human casualties, but burned 20.4 hectares of cajuput forest, of which 18.2 hectares were burned under the canopy and 1.84 hectares of grassland.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/chay-vuon-quoc-gia-tram-chim-dieu-tra-cac-bay-chuot-o-hien-truong-20240611210750653.htm