Around 5 p.m. on 3/5, Nhan Hoa commune (formerly part of Anh Son district) experienced a large thunderstorm following several hot days. A lightning bolt struck a molasses storage tank belonging to Song Lam Sugar Joint Stock Company, causing the tank to rupture and approximately 2,000 tons of molasses to spill out.
Within the premises, spanning hundreds of square meters, molasses flowed from the ruptured tank, reaching a depth of approximately 5-10 cm. Leaders of Song Lam Sugar Joint Stock Company estimated initial damages to be over 7 billion VND. According to an official, the company had previously suffered losses due to floods in 2025, and this natural disaster incident continues to significantly impact production.
Sugar factory storage tanks are typically vertical cylindrical structures, tens of meters high, large in diameter, and constructed from thick steel or reinforced concrete. From a distance, the tanks appear as massive circular blocks within the factory premises. They have sealed lids at the top and are surrounded by an intricate network of pipelines for storing and transferring sugarcane juice, syrup, or molasses during production.
The company is currently mobilizing workers to rectify the incident.
The Song Lam Nghe An Sugar Factory, now known as Song Lam Sugar Joint Stock Company, is one of two sugar industrial facilities in the North built with foreign aid starting in 1958 and becoming operational in 1960. In 1999, Nghe An province relocated the factory from the former Hung Nguyen district to Dinh Son commune (now Nhan Hoa commune), simultaneously increasing its capacity to 500 tons of sugarcane per day.
On the afternoon of 3/5, several communes formerly part of Anh Son district experienced thunderstorms accompanied by hail lasting 10-25 minutes. In Thanh Binh Tho commune, many egg-sized hailstones fell, damaging dozens of houses and flattening many crop areas.
Duc Hung
