A fire in the Lao Ministry of Technology and Communications’ building – in the same complex as the prime minister’s office – sent billows of black smoke into the sky on Monday and forced workers out into the street before it was brought under control.
Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blaze but a ministry employee told Radio Free Asia it appeared to have been sparked by an air conditioner on the ministry’s second floor.
“It’s a hot day in Vientiane,” the employee said on condition of anonymity. “The fire started at around 12:30 p.m. Then it spread to the carpet, ceiling and walls.”
The air conditioner might have short-circuited, he said. The state power enterprise, Electricite du Laos, cut off power for much of the afternoon in many Vientiane neighborhoods.
A video posted to Tholakhong, a Facebook page associated with the Lao government, showed black smoke coming from the building.
A woman can be heard in the background of the video complaining of the slow response from firefighters and describing her escape from the building.
“Look at the building, it’s burning,” she said. “I almost couldn’t make it. I was on the fourth floor. I yelled ‘fire, fire!’”
After she said that the “fire truck is so slow,” a male voice responded that the “fire truck might be going to get water.”
No casualties were reported.
Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Matt Reed and Taejun Kang.