After an explosion killed ten people in HCM City, one official from the Ministry of Public Security said they would tighten regulations on the use of explosives on movie sets.

Major General Tran Van Ve

Rescuers search for people in collapsed houses

The explosion reportedly came from the home of Le Minh Phuong, a special effects expert who worked with explosives for stunts in films.

Major General Tran Van Ve, Vice Head of the Department for Social Order-related Administrative Management, discussed the issue with a reporter on February 25.

Do you have any statements about the explosion that occurred on February 24?

It was a very tragic incident, and I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the victims.

We have ordinances in place on the use, management and storage of weapons and explosives which, if followed, would ensure their safe storage and use, as well as provide protection from environmental damage. Anyone who is authorised to use and store such materials must have a plan in place in case of accidents.

But it seems that Phuong did not strictly comply with regulations on the storage of explosives and ammunition.

Do you think local authorities share any responsibility in this case?

The authorities have shown lax management. They should have carried out regular inspections and detected any improper handling or storage of such dangerous materials to ensure people's safety.

Are entertainment firms authorised to store and use explosives? If so, which agencies are in charge of issuing these types of permits?

This is a complicated problem, and the government has asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to cooperate with the Ministry of Public Security to set up an effective regulatory system. The regulations would guide those who use dangerous materials, such as weapons, explosives or ammunition, whether they be for the purposes of training, sport or special effects on film.

This regulatory system was outlined in Resolution 25, but since then the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism hasn't followed up on the regulatory outline.

Director Le Hoang has said we should reconsider the use of pyrotechnics in the Vietnamese movie industry. What is your opinion on this?

Producers in other countries rely mainly on computer generated special effects, which is safer for the cast, crew and all others involved. I think that we should tighten control over use of explosives in films.