At least 32 people have died in a fire at a crowded bar in southern Vietnam, believed to have been started by an electrical problem.
The fire broke out on the second and third floors of the three-story karaoke parlor on Tuesday night in Thuan An city, located approximately 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) north of the country’s commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City.
The death toll rose to at least 32 on Thursday, with parts of the building still inaccessible due to the heat.
Customers and members of staff, mostly female, jumped from the second and third floors to escape the flames, which spread quickly due to insulation material and wooden interior elements.
Some of those who were taken to hospital suffered from smoke inhalation and broken bones and limbs.
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and asked government officials to support them and quickly find the cause of the fire.