HANOI (AFP) – Vietnamese authorities have arrested the owner of an entertainment venue in a fire that killed 32 people earlier this month, police said yesterday.
Nine days ago, a fire blew out a three-story entertainment complex in a dense residential area of Thuan An City, north of the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
Smoke filled the stairs and blocked emergency exits, trapping customers and staff.
Police said 17 people were injured, many having broken bones as the flames forced them to jump from roofs.
Binh Duong provincial police yesterday announced that the owner of the bar, Le Anh Xuan, 42, was arrested a day ago and will face criminal charges for violating fire regulations. Police added that he will be detained for four months while the investigation continues. Fifteen of his injured have been discharged, but two of his most severely injured are still being treated.
The bodies of the 32 people killed were handed over to their families. Firefighters initially had difficulty entering the building due to the intensity of the fire and had to knock down part of the wall to get inside.
Sixty people were inside the 30-room venue when the fire broke out, and eight were found dead in the facility’s toilets.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, survivors described their harrowing escape from the flames.
“I thought I was going to die,” worker Do Thanh Thu told state media.
Authorities initially believed the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit, but said the venue met all fire safety standards during checks over the past three years. Police partially accused the singer of being drunk.
“They were drunk. So when the staff informed them about the fire, people in some rooms didn’t listen,” provincial police chief Trinh Ngoc Quyen told a news conference.
What used to be Vietnam’s deadliest fire killed 13 people in 2018 in a housing complex in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2016, a fire at a karaoke facility in the capital Hanoi killed 13 people. Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Trih has ordered further inspections of high-risk venues.
Last month, three firefighters died after trying to put out a fire at another entertainment venue in Hanoi.
