House fire responsible for plume visible from Vientiane airport

Police and fire prevention authorities in the capital of the South-East Asian nation of Laos are investigating a residential fire that broke out before midday Friday.

The plume from the fire at a house in the Nongsangthor neighbourhood in Vientiane could be seen from the city's Wattay International Airport prior to being extinguished 30 minutes after the arrival of firefighters.

According to initial estimates, the losses are thought to be considerable. The police and other authorities are currently investigating the scenes and are in the process of assessing those costs.

An official in charge of the Vientiane Fire Prevention and Protection Department said to local media on Friday that in the past week, there have been four house fires in Vientiane, resulting in damages to five houses estimated at over 1 billion kip (some 123,000 U.S. dollars) but luckily no one has been injured or killed.

In August, five cases of fire were reported in the capital including two houses, one warehouse, one company premises, two apartment buildings and one furniture factory.

The department advised the public to check electrical devices before leaving home, to take care when burning rubbish and not to let children play with fire.

The department also repeated its warning for people to be on their guard against accidental fires and not to take risks with electrical wiring or appliances, or to leave burning candles unattended.

City authorities have called on citizens to be particularly mindful of fire prevention as the city prepares to welcome regional and world leaders for the ASEAN Summit, East Asia Summit and related meetings in the Lao capital. Endit