In a chilling domino effect, the collapse of a house in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City Sunday caused nine others in a row to collapse as well, but no casualties have been reported so far.

The workers then found artesian waters coming out from a small hole and very soon the water made it into a very big hole despite their efforts to fix it.

At the same time other workers found houses on Ham Nghi Street running across Ton Duc Thang starting to crack and subside, so they ran outside to wake up people in the houses for emergency evacuation.

Very soon after the people ran out of their houses, the house at No.3 Ham Nghi Street sank by several dozen meters, causing the one next to it (No.5) to cave in as well, witnesses said.

Another eight houses in a row were damaged as well with their rear portions collapsing, Luu Van Minh Hoang, who owns one of the houses, told local newswire Vietnamnet.

According to local people, the houses, which were built during the time of French dominance (1887-1945), had suffered from cracks and had showed signs of collapsing since the building’s construction was launched in 2008.

They said they had met the project’s representatives many times but couldn’t reach any agreement on solutions.

At the latest meeting, the representatives said they had put two houses at No.19 and No.21 under close observation and suggested families there move to hotels at the investor’s expenses, according to local residents.

Others were still staying in their houses which the representatives had said were not threatened.

Related agencies are investigating the cause of the accident. It is believed to be rooted in the construction of Saigon M&C building invested in by Saigon M&C Real Estate Joint-stock Company, and contracted by French-owned Bouygues Batiment International.

Nguyen The Dinh, chairman of People’s Committee in Nguyen Thai Binh Ward where the accident happened, said they had suspended the building’s construction and would permit its resumption only if the investor and the contractor cleared up the mess and met safety requirements.

According to Vietnam News, the investor was discussing compensation for the owners of the two houses that collapsed and planning new settlement areas for others.

The 40-storied complex of apartments and a trade center is expected to have nearly 6,600 square meters of built up area when completed.

Source: Thanh Nien