Four critically injured after house fire in HCM City

HCM CITY — The condition of four people who were rescued from a house fire in HCM City’s Phú Nhuận District on Tuesday continues to be critical.

One of the victims is unlikely to survive, doctors at Chợ Rẫy Hospital said on Wednesday.

Dr Ngô Đức Hiệp, head of the hospital’s Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns, said the four victims had suffered gas burns.

Hiệp said the four victims were in critical condition as the burns blocked the respiratory tract and lobes of the lung, leading to respiratory failure, which meant a high risk of fatality.

HCM City’s Police of Fire Prevention and Fighting Department, in cooperation with Phú Nhuận District’s police were on Wednesday inspecting the five-storey house on 126D Trần Kế Xương Street.

At 11am on Tuesday, an explosion was heard from the house, following which the fire spread quickly. Locals used fire extinguishers to stamp out the blaze and managed to rescue the four men trapped inside.

The explosion occurred on the fourth floor. Initial investigation showed that the victims used gasoline while smoking. — VNS