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by IANS |
Ho Chi Minh City, Sep 8 (IANS) At least 32 people were killed due to a fire at a karaoke bar in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, according to local media reports.
In a report on Wednesday, Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper, the official mouthpiece of the Public Security Ministry, said the victims comprised 17 men and 15 women, reports the BBC.
The Ministry said that there were about 60 people in the An Phu karaoke bar when the fire broke on Tuesday night.
"The fire started on the second floor of the bar and quickly spread to the third floor, which was full of flammable material," it said in a statement.
Local media reports said that in order to escape, four people jumped from the second and third floors. They sustained injuries but survived.
Firefighters reached the scene shortly after alarms went off.
Citing an unnamed official, the VnExpress news site said on Wednesday that the search for more victims has ended.
This was the deadliest in a series of fires in karaoke bars in Vietnam in recent years, raising concerns over poor safety standards, said the BBC.
Last month, three firefighters died as they tried to extinguish a fire at a karaoke venue in the capital Hanoi.
In 2016, a fire at another karaoke lounge in Hanoi left 13 people dead.
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