Fire, explosion deaths down in Vietnam in first 7 months

A total of 2,028 fires and explosions broke out across Vietnam in the first seven months of this year, killing 56 people and injuring 208 others, while leaving losses of some 940 billion Vietnamese dong (42 million U.S. dollars), the country's Fire Prevention and Fight Department said Monday.

In the same period last year, the Southeast Asian country suffered 1,967 fires and explosions, which left 61 people dead and 138 others injured, and caused losses of 358.7 billion Vietnamese dong (16 million U.S. dollars).

Natural disasters killed or left 50 people missing, injured 129 others, and caused property losses of nearly 1,500 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 67 million U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2016, said Vietnam's General Statistics Office. Endit