A
landslide this morning killed at least two people and injured five others on Len
Co Mountain in Nghe An Province.

Photo: Vietnam+

The casualties numbers
may rise but it was not known if other people were trapped under the rubble,
People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Tien Loi said.

Witnesses said other
people mining at the Yen Thanh District site were covered in dust and dirt from
the landslide which happened at 8am.

Local police, soldiers
and residents were still searching for victims but they faced the risk of
further landslides.

* War
on drugs to gain momentum

The
problems created by illegal drugs had become more complicated in recent years,
placing more challenges on drug fighters, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh
Trong said yesterday, March 31.

He
called for better co-ordination between relevant agencies and increased
information dissemination to prevent and fight the evils.

Trong,
who doubles as chairman of the National Committee for HIV/AIDS, Drug and
Prostitution Prevention, made the request yesterday at a workshop reviewing a
five-year drug prevention plan.

He said
ministries and agencies should open campaigns to fight drug crimes in key areas
and border areas, uncover foreign trafficking rings, raze drug hot spots and
clear areas growing drug crops.

He said
agencies and localities should raise the effectiveness of drug rehabilitation
centres, provide vocational training for addicts and jobs for former drug users
to reduce recidivism.

Reviewing anti-drug activities during the past five years, Deputy Minister of
Public Security Le The Tiem said that agencies had made positive achievements in
the fight against drugs, contributing to social order and socio-economic
development.

He
called for more attention to improving drug detoxification centres. At present,
there are 123 centres throughout Viet Nam able to treat up to 60,000 addicts.

About
250,000 drug addicts had been treated in the past five years and more than
15,000 had found jobs.

Tiem
said the evils of drugs had expanded across the country, even though the number
of reported addicts had dropped from 178,305 in 2007 to 143,000 last year.

Drug
addicts come from all walks of life, ranging from students to singers, models
and civil servants.

Under-30-year-olds account for 68.3 per cent of addicts, with most choosing
heroin and synthetic drugs. The number of drug addicts using heroin increased
from 66.3 per cent in 2006 to 71 per cent last year.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News