12 dead, 11 injured in fire at karaoke bar in Vietnam

12 dead, 11 injured in fire at karaoke bar in Vietnam

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A fire broke through a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam, killing 12 people and injuring 11, a local official said on Wednesday.

The fire engulfed the building’s second and third floors Tuesday night, engulfing customers and employees as thick smoke filled the stairwell, state media reported.

Many crowded onto a balcony to escape the flames, which grew rapidly as they engulfed the wooden interior, and others had to jump from the building, the reports added.

Photos showed plumes of smoke billowing from the bar in a crowded residential area in the city of Thuan An, north of the Ho Chi Minh City commercial hub, as firefighters on cranes tried to douse the blaze.

A local official confirmed to AFP that 12 people were killed and 11 injured in the fire.

“Rescue teams are still searching the scene for victims. The cause of the fire has not been determined and is under investigation,” Nguyen Thanh Tam, a senior official with the ruling Communist Party in Thuan An city, told AFP.

Witness Nguyen Sang, who lives near the karaoke bar, told news site VnExpress that a receptionist said when the fire trucks arrived at the scene, 40 people were stuck inside.

“Many people ran outside through the main entrance, but many others could not bear the heat and jumped down, breaking their hands and legs,” Sang said.

The fire was the deadliest in Vietnam since 2018, when 13 people died in a fire at an apartment complex in Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2016, a fire at a karaoke bar in Hanoi killed 13 people, prompting a nationwide assessment of fire safety measures in bars and clubs.

Last month, three firefighters died after trying to put out a fire at another karaoke bar in the capital.

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