Death toll rises to 23 in karaoke fire in Vietnam

The death toll from a fire overnight Tuesday at a karaoke bar in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Duong has risen to 23, according to the latest death toll provided by authorities, who said eleven other people have been injured.

The vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Mai Hung Dung, has detailed that several of the victims located during the last hours were in the bathrooms of the facilities, before adding that “work is continuing”, as reported by the Vietnamese daily ‘Tuoi Tre’.

“Because some rooms are closed and very hot (from the flames), it is difficult to access them and the wall has to be broken. It is impossible to confirm when they (search and rescue work) will end,” he said.

The fire broke out at around 9 p.m. (local time) at the An Phú karaoke bar in the city of Thuan An. According to initial reports, the fire started between the second and third floors and quickly spread through the soundproofing foam under the interior wood, with no known causes of the event at this time.

The exits of the karaoke bar, which has 29 rooms and a built area of more than 1,500 square meters, were closed when the fire started, which caused many customers and some of the staff to panic, so dozens of people jumped through the windows to try to escape the flames.