Three people were injured when 200 angry residents caused a stampede at the Bong Mieu gold mine in Quang Nam Province yesterday after a local was allegedly assaulted by the mine’s security guards.
The incident occurred at 2 a.m. Saturday, after Vu Xuan Loc, a local resident, had a blow exchange with some security guards of the Bong Mieu Gold Company, said Bui Quang Minh, chairman of the Phu Ninh district’s Tam Lanh commune People Committee.
Loc and two guards, whose names were not announced, were injured during their fight that broke out at pit No. 6 of the mine, Minh said.
The guards suspected that Loc had stolen some gold ore exploited by the company, which is licensed to mine gold at Bong Mieu, Minh said.
Soon after the fight, more than 200 locals flocked to the scene to protest the company’ security force, causing a chaos there.
After being informed of the incident by the company, local police rushed to the scene to control the situation and prevent any extreme actions by the two sides and, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Le Hoai Nam, deputy head of the Phu Ninh Police Department.
Policemen tried to cool down the angry crowd but it was not until 6 a.m. that the disorderly crowd was dispersed, Minh said.
Before the fight between Loc and the guards, a number of locals had allegedly broken into the company’s mining site to steal an indeterminable amount of rock containing gold ore, the official said.
The police are investigating the case.