Race against time: Firefighters extinguishing the deadly fire at the karaoke bar in Hanoi. — AFP
Police have arrested a man suspected of starting a blaze that killed 11 following an argument with workers at a Hanoi cafe, authorities said, while two of the seven pulled from the flames were admitted to hospital.
In a statement, police said yesterday that the man had confessed to using gasoline to set Wednesday’s fire on the ground floor of the three-storey cafe, where people were also singing karaoke-style.
The suspect is in his early 50s, said the state-run Tien Phong newspaper, adding that one witness reported hearing a blast.
“The fire blocked all the exits,” another witness told the paper.
“The smell of gasoline was strong.”
It took about 40 minutes to rein in the fire, reported just after 11pm, police added, with two of the seven rescued admitted to hospital.
Images on an online news outlet, VnExpress, showed firemen working to douse the flames, while the bodies of several victims were carried away.
“I noticed a column of smoke from afar. I was so frightened that I had to urge my grandchild to go downstairs,” it cited a witness as saying.
“The flames were so fierce. We saw the fire but there was nothing else we could do.”
Yesterday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for urgent investigation and strict action against anyone who had violated the law. — Reuters
