Around 10 p.m. on Sunday, a fire broke out in a 50-square-meter apartment on the ground floor of the Doc Lap (Independence) residential area, located in Phu Tho Hoa Ward, formerly Tan Phu District. The blaze spread rapidly, trapping several residents inside.
The residential complex, comprising two five-story blocks, A and B, was constructed several decades ago. Block A, where the fire occurred, contains more than 110 apartments, each measuring between 45 and 60 square meters.
After the fire was extinguished, authorities discovered eight victims from two families. One family consisted of a couple aged 38 and 40 and their two children, aged 7 and 11. The other family included four adults whose identities have not yet been confirmed.
Outside the burned apartment, the door frame was warped and blackened by smoke. The corrugated iron roof and supporting beams had collapsed, and beneath the entryway, a car and numerous belongings were completely destroyed by fire.
The fire burned down two apartments on the ground floor and one on the first. Pictured is a bedroom of the damaged unit on the first floor, with the bed and other furniture reduced to charcoal.
Tran Quang Khanh, 55, a resident of the apartment complex for 13 years, said that at the time of the fire, there were five people in his house. When his child shouted "fire," the whole family managed to escape just in time. As they ran out, flames were already engulfing the bedroom.
Residents moved their belongings to safety after the fire broke out.
Fire trucks and dozens of firefighters were dispatched to the scene. One team used hoses to extinguish the flames and prevent the fire from spreading to the ground floor, while other teams moved to the upper floors to put out the fire, clear the smoke, and approach the burning apartment from above.
At 7 a.m., Ho Chi Minh City Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc (R) led a delegation to inspect the site.
In the photo, Duoc and Major General Nguyen Thanh Huong, Deputy Director of the HCMC Police Department, stand inside a scorched first-floor apartment, where the walls were cracked. The fire had started in a ground-floor unit and spread to the floor above.
The moment the fire engulfed an apartment in the Doc Lap building. Photo by Tuan Viet, Minh Hoang
