Firecracker explosion kills two in northern Vietnam

The accident took place on Thursday as Mai Thi Xang, 30, and Luong Thi Giang, 28, were making a firecracker at a rented house in Kim Son District.

According to the district’s authorities, Xang and Giang were hired by Nguyen Van Linh to make firecrackers to sell in the upcoming Tet holiday, when Vietnamese people celebrate the new lunar year.

Linh, 27, a native in Kim Son District, learned how to make firecrackers on social media and taught the two women. He hired a house in the district for the business.

The explosion happened around 5 p.m. on Thursday, when Giang and Xang were assembling the detonator for a firecracker in the house’s kitchen.

It killed both of them, blew away the iron roof and caused several walls to collapse.

Giang’s four-year-old son was sleeping in a room next to the kitchen and suffered a slight injury.

Linh has been detained.

Vietnam has banned the production, sale, and burning of firecrackers and explosives nationwide (except for fireworks) since Jan. 1, 1995, after the use of fireworks became rampant, causing many deaths and injuries.