33 die in karaoke palor fire

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From VN Express

Firemen work at An Phu karaoke parlor in Binh Duong Province on September 7, 2022 where a fire break out on September 6, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

A total of 33 people have died in the fire that broke out Tuesday evening at a karaoke parlor in Binh Duong Province, authorities confirmed Wednesday night.

Colonel Tran Van Chinh, Deputy Director of the Binh Duong Police Department, said that the victims comprised 17 men and 16 women. Among the deaths was that of a woman who succumbed in the hospital to injuries sustained after jumping down from an upper floor.

All the bodies have been taken to the Thuan An General Hospital. The search for victims has now ended, Chinh said.

Hundreds of people gathered at the scene to watch the search for bodies.

At around 4 p.m., firemen had found nine more bodies in the bathroom on the third floor of the An Phu karaoke parlor on Trang Quang Dieu Street, taking the death toll to 23, with officials saying it could rise as the search continued.

Ho Chi Minh City had sent 15 elite firemen to assist in finding the bodies as the structure of the building had collapsed and its pathways were blocked.

The fire broke out at the karaoke parlor at around 9 p.m. Tuesday night. There were around 70 people in it at the time.

The parlor staff were not able to contain the fire as it caught the soundproof foam mattresses and wooden interiors. Many people were forced to rush to the balcony. Four people were injured after jumping down a height of 7-8 meters from the second floor.

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Only way out is down

Nguyen Trong Phuc, 18, is treated at the An Phu Hospital in Binh Duong Province with a broken leg after jumping off the second floor of a karaoke parlor to escape a fire, September 7, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van

When the flames and smoke raged around him on the second floor of a karaoke parlor in Binh Duong, Nguyen Trong Phuc, 18, knew there was only one way out.

On Wednesday morning, Phuc, an employee of the An Phu karaoke parlor in the southern province, was awaiting leg surgery at An Phu General Hospital after jumping 10 meters from the second floor onto the roof of a house next door. The fire at the parlor from the previous night has claimed the lives of 23 people so far.

Still weary from an eventful night and with aches all over his body, Phuc thought himself a lucky man.

Phuc has been working at the facility for VND7 million ($296.74) a month. At around 9 p.m. Tuesday, as he was cleaning a room on the first floor, he heard a scream: "Fire in room 303!" followed by the sounds of multiple explosions. The power went out just five minutes after, as the smoke began seeping through the doors and hallways and the heat wafted into the air, closing in from the front.

In the dark, Phuc heard screams of terror, along with calls for help.

"It was dark as ink. The voices screaming for help still haunt me even now," he said.

Phuc felt like suffocating. He ran towards the stairs, but the smoke was too thick and too many people were running in the opposite direction. Realizing the stairs were a no-go, Phuc covered his nose with his shirt and tried to find his way within the dark toward the restroom. He climbed on top of the toilet and jumped from the window, landing on a roof next door.

Phuc said he might have died if he landed on the ground instead.

At the hospital with Phuc, dozens of other employees were being treated in the ICU.

Ngan, 20, was one of the employees rescued by firefighters from the highest floor, where she was sleeping with dozens of other staff, waiting for their next shift.

Ngan saw the smoke coming up from the stairs. It stung her nose and eyes, trapping Ngan and the others inside the room, knowing they cannot escape to lower levels.

When the electric signs began to catch fire, Ngan and the others had no choice but to run toward the roof and scream for help. They used whatever they had at the time, scarfs and dresses and other clothing items, to protect their noses from the smoke. Ngan said many tried to poke their heads through metal bars and wave their hands, hoping someone could see them.

Thirty minutes after the fire began, the group was rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital, only 500 meters away.

Duong Ba Khuong, 27, was at the parlor's reception when he realized what was happening. He tried to run upstairs to help, but failed due to the sheer amount of smoke and heat.

"Some people managed to run to lower floors but were severely burned. The soot blackened their clothes all over," he said. The parlor has around 30 rooms, including seven on the first floor and nine to 13 rooms on the next two floors. There was a kitchen on the first floor, while the highest floor served as staff quarters, he said.

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From Channel News Asia

Owner of Vietnam karaoke bar arrested

HANOI: Vietnamese authorities have arrested the owner of a karaoke bar where a fire killed 32 people earlier this month, police said Saturday (Sep 17).

The blaze ripped through a three-storey entertainment venue north of commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City nine days ago.

Seventeen people were injured, with many suffering broken bones after the flames forced them to jump from the roof, police said.

Binh Duong provincial police on Saturday confirmed in a statement that bar owner Le Anh Xuan, 42, was arrested a day earlier and faces criminal charges related to breaching fire prevention regulations.

He will be held in custody for four months while the investigation continues, police added.

While 15 of the injured have been released from hospital, two of the most seriously hurt are still receiving medical treatment.