The two-hour fire at the Duyên Hải 3 coal-fired power plant was thought to be caused by human error. - VNA/VNS Photo |
TRÀ VINH — Workers’ negligence might have caused the fire at the Duyên Hải 3 coal-fired power plant in Trà Vinh Province, authorities said on Thursday.
The blaze allegedly started on Wednesday morning at the under-construction flue-gas desulfurisation tower, where a couple of workers were welding at the height of some 30m. Authorities suspect sparks from the welding fell on composite material below and caught fire.
The two-hour fire burnt down some 70 per cent of the facility, which was being built by a Singapore-based company at the cost of US$10 million.
Construction of the plant began in late 2014, with a total investment of nearly VNĐ23 trillion ($1.02 billion). It would have had the capacity to provide nearly four billion kilo-watt hours of electricity per year and was expected to become operational this year. — VNS