Xinhuanet 2003-02-06 17:20:46
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　　HANOI, Feb. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- As many as 867 traffic accidents occurred in Vietnam during Tet (the Lunar New Year) holidays from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5, killing 276 people and injuring 1,293 others, according to Vietnam News Agency on Thursday.

　　The average of 46 traffic deaths per day during six-day Tet washigher than the figure in previous days.

　　Security and social order were firmly maintained in major cities during the Tet holidays. Only one traffic congestion was reported on the Eve of the Lunar New Year in Ho Chi Minh City. Police detected 30 illegal fire-cracker transporting cases. Six explosive accidents occurred during these holidays, injuring 19 people.

　　In Hanoi, police detected 26 criminal cases, including three serious ones, and reported three fires. And in Ho Chi Minh City, there were 23 traffic accidents, causing five deaths and 23 injuries. It had 23 fires reported, destroying 21 make-shift houses in Binh Thach and Tan Binh districts, causing damages worthbillions of Vietnamese dong (one US dollars equals 15,350 Vietnamese dong). The city's police also detected 71 crimes.

　　The Mekong delta province of Can Tho reported seven road accidents with five deaths and six injuries, showing a one-third decrease compared with last Tet.

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