11 workers badly burnt following explosion at Vietnam's wood firm Victims are seen at the 115 Nghe An General Hospital in Nghe An Province, located in north-central Vietnam, on April 18, 2016. Tuoi Tre Eleven workers at a wood company in the north-central Vietnamese province of Nghe An have suffered severe burns from a reported oil pipe explosion on Monday morning. The explosion at the The Gioi Go Vietnam JSC, situated in the Nam Cam Industrial Park, Nghi Loc District, has caused the victims to be hospitalized, of whom the two most critical were transferred to the National Institute of Burns in Hanoi. Preliminary information revealed that the incident occured at around 9:45 am at the plywood production section of the facility. Most of the victims were treated at the 115 Nghe An General Hospital and the Huu Nghi Hospital after suffering burns on their arms, legs, backs, and faces. “We heard a loud noise before being knocked to the ground by its force. I later found out that my arms and back were burnt,” Pham Thanh Nhan, one of the wounded workers, said. By around 6:30 pm the same day, investigation was continuing at the scene as police gathered statements from witnesses. According to Major Nguyen Trong Tue, chief of the police department in Nghi Loc District, the accident was the result of an explosion in the oil pipeline of the hydraulic press. All operations of the firm have been ordered to cease while authorities carry out their investigation as well as an inspection on the company’s labor safety standards, Le Ngoc Hoa, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. “The firm has violated many regulations on occupational safety and ignored the rights of its workers. The explosion also indicates oversights by local authorities in the management of workplace safety,” Hoa said. A team of inspectors will be established to examine all businesses across the province to prevent similar accidents from happening, the vice-chair said. The wood processing firm was formed over a year ago and its managers have failed to sign labor contracts with about 200 workers, nor purchased any type of insurance for its employees, said Nguyen Tu Phuong, vice president of the Nghe An Labor Confederation. Monthly salaries of all male and female employees have recently decreased from VND3 million (US$135) to VND2.4 million ($108), and from VND2.6 million ($117) to VND2.4 million, according to Nguyen Thi My Le, an employee of the firm. Authorities in Nghe An Province have visited the victims and offered VND3 million ($135) worth of financial support to their families.   Officers inspect the scene of the explosion at the wood company in Nghe An Province on April 18, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre TUOI TRE NEWS