Fire destroys Vietnamese market in Laos

There are still no official reports about casualties and property damage as of yet, but it is estimated that Vietnamese traders have lost property valued in the millions of USD.

Just two days ago, this place was home to Linh’s seafood stalls. Since the fire, his eight stalls have been completely destroyed. All his savings for the last 10 years have also gone. Since the fire started at night, there were thankfully no casualties.

However, Champasak authorities have estimated the property damage at around 7.5 million US dollars. Traders believe the damage could be greater since goods stocked at the area included textiles, dried products and jewellery.

After the fire happened, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Champasak and the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Champasak Province have offered help so traders can recover from the incident.

"We’ll have a meeting to discuss how to help the traders. At the meantime, each household will receive about 500,000 Lao kip", Cao Dinh Hanh - Chairman of Overseas Vietnamese Association in Champasak Province - said.

The market opened in 2001 with about 700 stalls. Most of the traders are Vietnamese or Laotian - Vietnamese.