A large fire occurred at a house in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, early this morning, killing seven people, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondents reported from the scene.

>> Fire breaks out at Indonesian consulate general in Vietnam The blaze broke out at 3:15 am Tuesday inside the house at 416 Nguyen Trai Street, Ward 8, and rapidly spread through the building, locals said. Firefighters, rescuers and police rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire, find victims, and maintain order in the area. More than 10 fire engines were deployed to the scene, and the fire was under control within an hour.

At 6:45 am, rescuers and firefighters brought out four bodies. Fifteen minutes later, another body was removed from the house, which is a shop that sells accessories for hair salons and other goods, local said.

Firefighters also removed furniture, motorbikes, and other household items that were burned in the fire. They were also informed by local residents that there might be three or four more people inside the house. Rescuers continued to search for them, and at 7:20 am, one more dead body was found, and by 8 am the death toll had increased to seven.   Luong My Ngoc, 57, who lives at 447 Nguyen Trai Street, said that after hearing several small explosions, she went outside and flames at the house. Neighbors called firefighters and used their household extinguishers to try to put out the fire, but they were unable to keep it under control.  Nobody was able to escape from the house as the door was locked, locals said.  Initial reports said the two fashion shops on either side of the house were unaffected by the blaze.

The bodies of those killed in the fire were brought to the morgue at Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital.

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze.

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