50 thought dead in Vietnamese blaze

More than 50 people, including at least one foreigner, were killed when a fire raged through a six storey building in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City today.

Dozens more people were believed trapped and more than 100 injured, firefighters said.

At least one unidentified foreign man was among the fatalities and six staff of an American insurance company were missing, officials said.

A wedding reception was being held in the building at the time of the fire, Ho Chi Minh City Television said. It said about 500 people were inside the building when the blaze broke out.

Firefighters were still unable to enter the building at early evening – more than four hours after the fire broke out – because of extreme heat.

At least one person could be seen at a window trying to summon rescuers, but firefighters said they did not have the necessary equipment to reach him. Flames raged at other windows.

The International Trading Centre building has several floors of shops and about 50 offices. The American International Assurance Company was conducting a training programme in the building for about 100 of its insurance agents when the fire began, said a company official.

Six staff members were missing and about 30 were injured, some seriously, she said.

“A bell rang, and then the electricity cut off,” she said. “The fire came very fast.”

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but police said they suspected it started in the Blue Disco, the city’s most popular dance spot. The disco has been attacked in the state-controlled press in recent days for allegedly condoning “social evils” such as drug use.

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named Saigon, is Vietnam’s southern commercial centre.