HANOI: Thirteen people were killed and several injured when a fire broke out at an apartment complex in Vietnam’s southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, authorities said. An official said many of the victims died of suffocation as they tried to flee the fire by running to higher floors. Le Thi Vang told state-run VNExpress that she and her family were jolted awake by a loud blast in their second-floor apartment, which quickly filled with smoke. According to reports, the blaze may have started in the underground parking garage that connected adjacent blocks of the apartment complex. The large apartment complex includes several buildings between 15 and 22 storeys high and was built six years ago in a residential neighbourhood of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city.

Source: The Star March 24, 2018 02:48 UTC