People on Phu Quoc Island, off the southern Vietnamese province of Kien Giang, do not regularly see a tractor-trailer on fire, so when there was one on Friday, many gathered in crowds around the site of incident and live-stream the scene, despite the risks of explosions.

The tractor-trailer, owned by a concrete-making company, was heading from An Thoi Town to Duong Dong Town at around 5:30 pm, when its cabin caught fire, apparently due to a short circuit.

The driver managed to get out of the cabin and was joined by some locals in using fire extinguishers to control the blaze, but to no avail.

The truck caught fire just next to a set of power poles and transformers, posing risks of explosions.

Despite this, many people, most of whom were parents who were taking their children home after school, stood to watch the scene of fire with obvious excitement. Some also live-streamed the incident on Facebook.

The crowds refused to disperse even though the truck driver and some people with knowledge of fire safety repeatedly warned about explosion risks from the vehicle’s fuel tank.

Many mothers carrying their children on motorbikes were seen stopping by the scene and take some photos of the truck fire, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter observed on site.

Photos and live-stream videos of the incident flooded several Facebook pages and groups about Phu Quoc, as well as personal accounts of the islanders.

The cabin is seen after the fire. Photo: Duy Khanh / Tuoi Tre

The situation blocked traffic for around 30 minutes before a fire truck from Duong Dong Town eventually arrived at the scene to completely put out the fire.

The truck cabin was completely destroyed after the fire.

A semi-truck is seen on fire on Phu Quoc Island, off southern Vietnam, September 6, 2019. Photo: Duy Khanh / Tuoi Tre

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