Death toll from a fire that tore through a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam has risen to 23

An official said Wednesday that the death toll from a fire that ripped through a karaoke club in southern Vietnam has risen to 23. Tuesday night, a fire overtook the second story of the business, trapping customers and employees as thick smoke filled the stairway and barred the emergency escape, according to sources.

Others were forced to jump from the structure, according to state-run media, as the flames soon increased as they spread through the wooden interior of the bar.

Photos showed smoke pouring from the bar, which was situated in a dense residential zone in Thuan An city, Binh Duong province, north of the commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City. Firefighters on ladders were attempting to extinguish the incident.

“We are still searching for more victims but the death toll so far is 23, and 11 people injured,” Mai Hung Dung, a top official with the ruling Communist Party in Binh Duong, told AFP. Authorities had earlier reported 12 deaths.

State media said that eight bodies were discovered in the restroom of the bar.

According to a report given by state media, the original cause of the fire was a short circuit, as reported by officials in Binh Duong and cited by state media.

Nguyen Sang, a witness who lives next to the karaoke club, told the news website VnExpress that when fire vehicles got on the scene, a receptionist reported that there were forty people trapped inside.

“Many people ran outside through the main entrance, but many others could not stand the heat and they jumped down, breaking their hands and legs,” Sang said.

According to official media, rescue personnel searched the 30-room pub throughout the night for anybody who may have been trapped inside. In addition, police said that the karaoke establishment’s fire protection standards had been reviewed previous to the incident.

In what was previously the worst fire in Vietnam, thirteen people perished in a Ho Chi Minh City apartment complex fire in 2018.

At 2016, a fire in a karaoke bar in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi claimed the lives of thirteen people, triggering a nationwide review of fire protection procedures in bars and clubs.

Wednesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered further inspections of high-risk venues, including karaoke bars.

Three firemen perished in Hanoi last month while attempting to quell a fire at another karaoke bar.