At least 32 dead in Vietnam karaoke fire
An electrical short circuit is believed to be the cause of the disaster declared near Ho Chi Minh City overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.
This photo taken on September 6, 2022 and released by the Vietnam News Agency on September 7 shows firefighters at the scene of a deadly fire that engulfed a karaoke bar in Binh Duong province, north of Ho Chi Minh Town.
AFP
A fire killed at least 32 people and injured several in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in a karaoke bar near Ho Chi Minh City. It is one of the deadliest fires in Vietnam in recent years.
The new assessment, announced in the evening by an official newspaper, reports 32 deaths, including 15 women. Eight bodies were found in particular in the toilets. An electrical short circuit was the cause of the fire, according to a report by provincial authorities, quoted by state media.
The previous count indicated 23 dead. An official from Binh Duong province, where the tragedy occurred, told AFP that eleven people were also injured. “We are always looking for more victims,” insisted Mai Hung Dung.
Trapped Customers
The disaster was declared Tuesday evening in the karaoke bar “An Phu” in Thuan An, north of Ho Chi Minh City, the industrial center of the country. The fire destroyed the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building with four levels and thirty karaoke rooms, trapping customers and staff.
Some took refuge on a balcony as the flames grew in intensity, fueled inside by the wooden decorations. Others had to jump from the floors, described an official newspaper.
“A lot of people escaped through the main entrance, but many more jumped out, breaking their legs and hands,” a witness told the VNExpress news site.
Inspection of establishments at risk
Local police said the building had been checked for compliance with fire prevention measures, state media reported. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday ordered the inspection of at-risk establishments, including karaoke bars, popular in the country.
It is the deadliest fire in Vietnam since that of a residential building in Ho Chi Minh City in 2018 which left thirteen dead.
Another fire destroyed a karaoke bar in the capital Hanoi in 2016 (13 dead), casting doubt on these places suspected of not taking basic safety rules into account. In August, three firefighters died trying to put out a fire at a karaoke bar in Hanoi.
In nearby Thailand, a fire in a nightclub near the seaside resort of Pattaya killed 23 people in early August.
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