VIETNAM – A five-storey building fire in Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh on the Độc Lập apartment complex late Sunday have left 8 people dead according to local reports.
The fire broke out Sunday night in a ground-floor unit of the five-story building, prompting a chaotic evacuation as residents fled the building in panic.
Neighbors attempted to extinguish the flames using portable fire extinguishers, but the blaze quickly spread, engulfing the apartment.
Many vehicles including motorbikes, bicycles and cars were charred by the fire.
Some 1,723 fires and explosions occurred nationwide in the first half of this year, resulting in 48 deaths and 75 injuries, according to Vietnam‘s National Statistics Office.