Hanoi (dpa) - Authorities released 600 prison inmates in southern Vietnam to fight a raging forest fire that threatened more than 2,000 hectares of indigo forest, an official said Thursday.
The blaze destroyed at least 200 hectares before it was brought under control Thursday.
All inmates had returned to K-1 Cai Tau Prison by the end of the day, according to Le Thanh Trieu, Communist Party secretary of the U Minh township.
Ca Mau province officials believe the fire was started by beekeepers smoking hives in the forest, according to local media.
It is the second time in three years that K-1 Cai Tau's inmates have been drafted to fight fires in the province, Trieu told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone.
Each time, there have been no escapes, Trieu said, "because they have been rehabilitated well and they have good discipline."
Ca Mau province is on alert for more brush fires as a devastating drought enters its second month.
"This year, the situation is very tense with high risk of fire breaking out," Trieu said by telephone. "About 4,000 hectares of forestland are now dried up. If it gets any worse, we will have to resort to pumping the brackish water from the river to temporarily cope with it."
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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 03/21/2002 04:28:51
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