A police investigation has revealed that the tanker truck that caused a deadly fire after a crash in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Phuoc on Thursday was traveling at nearly 100km per hour prior to the accident.

Data from the truck’s black box indicated that the vehicle, whose license plate number is 93N-2689, was running at 96km per hour when it crashed.

Meanwhile, the section of National Highway 13 in Minh Hung Commune, Chon Thanh District, Binh Phuoc, where the accident occurred, only permits a maximum speed of 60km an hour.

The road section runs through a residential area and includes a median strip.

Police officers also discovered that the truck had seriously violated the speed limit multiple times during the hour before the deadly accident.

At 3:39 am, the truck reached a speed of 100km per hour.

At 3:45 am, it hit 101km an hour before taking a short break on the side of the road.

The vehicle resumed its journey and continued traveling at 80km per hour at 4:31 am.

The speed gradually rose to 85, 93, and 96km per hour when it crashed at 4:33 am.

The tanker rear-ended a three-wheeled cargo motorcycle, according to eyewitnesses, before crossing the median strip to the other side of the street.

 It continued down the sidewalk and eventually rammed into a medium voltage power pole.

The truck then overturned, spilling petrol onto the street which erupted in flames that quickly engulfed a series of houses along the highway.

Six people died on the spot, while dozens of others were injured and the tanker was completely destroyed. About 19 houses were burned.

The driver of the fuel truck suffered severe burns and is now in intensive care at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

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