This picture taken on September 6, 2022 and released on September 7 by the Vietnam News Agency shows firefighters at the scene of a deadly fire that engulfed a karaoke bar in Binh Duong province, north of Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo by Vietnam News Agency / AFP)
HANOI, Vietnam — A fire tore through a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam killing 12 people and leaving 11 injured, a local official said Wednesday.
The blaze engulfed the second and third floors of the four-story building on Tuesday night, trapping customers and staff members as dense smoke filled the staircase, state media reported.
Many crowded onto a balcony to escape the flames, which grew quickly as they caught the wooden interior, and others were forced to jump from the building, the reports added.
Photos showed plumes of smoke billowing out of the bar — located in a crowded residential neighbourhood in Thuan An city, north of Ho Chi Minh City — as firefighters on cranes tried to extinguish the fire.
A local official confirmed to AFP that 12 people were dead and 11 injured in the blaze.
“Rescue teams are still looking for victims at the scene. The cause of the fire has not been determined and is being investigated,” Nguyen Thanh Tam, head of Thuan An city, told AFP.