HANOI – At least 12 people were killed and 40 injured in a fire at a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam, state media reported on Wednesday.
The official Vietnamese news agency reported that the fire broke out on Tuesday night in a bar in Binh Duong province, an industrial production center near Ho Chi Minh City.
The report stated that 11 of the injured were in serious condition.
The report quoted a witness who gave her name as Quineh, saying: “When the fire broke out, I panicked and ran for safety and don’t remember how it happened.”
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chin on Wednesday ordered the Ministry of Public Security and provincial authorities to investigate the cause of the fire.
Chenh also ordered cities and counties across the Southeast Asian country to roll out safety standards in fire-prone facilities, including at karaoke bars.
Karaoke is popular in Vietnam, but the venues’ lax security standards have raised concerns. Three firefighters were killed in a fire at another karaoke restaurant in Hanoi last month.
