Thirteen tenants were killed while 28 others were injured in a blaze that slowly engulfed a luxury apartment in Ho Chi Minh City early on Friday.
The fire started at the lower part of the Carina apartment on Vo Van Kiet Street in District 8 at around 1:30 am, sending multiple pieces of concrete to collapse, trapping residents, most of whom were sleeping, inside the building.
More than 200 firefighters and 34 fire trucks were immediately dispatched to the scene, but still failed to rescue some residents. The fire was put out at around 4:30 am.
As of 8:00 am the same day, Nguyen Thanh Huong, acting director of the Ho Chi Minh City fire department, said 13 people were confirmed dead, while 28 others were injured.
The chairwoman of Nguyen Thai Binh Ward of District 1 was among the victims. It is not immediately clear if she was dead or injured.
The building’s 22,000-square-meter basement, with a parking space of 1,000 square meters, were completely destroyed, with 150 motorbikes and 13 cars burned.
Many rescued residents said they had no idea that their building was on fire as the alarm system did not work.
“There was no alarming sound and the fire sprinkler system just didn’t work,” one resident said. “We only learned of the fire when its smoke and heat reached the 14th floor.”
People climb out of the building. Photo: Tuoi Tre
People climb out of the building. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Vo Van Hoan, head of the secretariat of the Ho Chi Minh City administration, said the fire resulted in the biggest damage costs and casualties in the southern metropolis in recent years.
It is the second worst fire in Ho Chi Minh City in the last two decades, following the blaze that killed 60 and injured 70 others at the ITC trade center in October 2002.
Nguyen Phuc, director of the 577 JSC, the developer of the Carina, said the building was put into use in 2009 and no major incidents had occurred until Friday’s fire.
He turned down questions from reporters during a quick media meeting held at the scene of fire that the apartment’s fire alarm system was out of order, saying a thorough inspection is needed to give out the answer.
Phuc also said the developer will begin calculating compensation and taking other necessary steps following the tragedy.
Source: Tuoitre