HO CHI MINH CITY, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City currently has some 10 helipads on the roofs of tall buildings, which can be used for fire fighting and rescue activities, the municipal Fire Prevention and Fight Bureau said on Friday.
Ho Chi Minh City plans to ask high-rises with more than 20 stories to have helipads to assist fire fighting and rescue, the bureau said, noting that there are hundreds of such buildings in the city now.
According to a regulation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, big cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi should have at least two helicopters used for fire fighting and two other planes used for both fire fighting and rescue. But to date, they have yet to have such aircraft.
A total of 1,687 fires and explosions broke out across Vietnam between January and April, killing 40 people and injuring 87 others, while causing losses of some 864 billion Vietnamese dong (38.7 million U.S. dollars), according to the country's Fire Prevention and Fight Department.
