Many customers ignored the warnings from employees when a fire broke out at a karaoke parlor in Binh Duong Province, southern Vietnam earlier this week, which resulted in the death of 33 people, police officers said during a press meeting on Thursday.

The Binh Duong People’s Committee held a press meeting on Thursday morning to provide information about the deadly conflagration that took place at An Phu karaoke parlor in An Phu Ward, Thuan An City.

The inferno started on the second floor of the three-story facility at around 8:30 pm on Tuesday and quickly spread to other areas.

A total of 33 customers and employees were killed, while about 22 people survived the accident.  

It was a serious accident, provincial chairman Mai Hung Dung stated, adding that the human loss is terrible even though the fire broke out at a small venue and was quickly extinguished.

Firefighters met many difficulties trying to reach the victims, Dung continued.

There were many reasons behind the serious consequences of the karaoke parlor fire, according to Colonel Nguyen Thanh Diep, deputy director of the Binh Duong Department of Public Security.

After discovering the flames at room No. 303, employees of the venue tried to inform all customers inside the singing rooms.

However, many guests ignored their warnings and continued singing, Diep said.

Elaborating on this matter, director of the provincial Department of Public Security Trinh Ngoc Quyen said that many customers were not sober enough at the time and thus did not listen to the employees’ warnings and instructions.

Some of them even pulled the staff into their singing rooms and shut the door, Quyen added.

“The death toll would have been lower if customers had escaped the venue early,” the police official assessed.

Local authorities already provided guidance on fire safety to owners, managers, and employees of karaoke parlors in the province, Quyen continued.

However, numerous unexpected problems may occur when people panic, he said.

Preliminary investigation showed that an electrical problem could have ignited the fire.

According to chairman of Thuan An Nguyen Thanh Tam, the An Phu karaoke parlor covers an area of about 500 square meters, has three floors, and consists of 30 singing rooms.

The venue has a legitimate license and fire safety certificate, Tam added.

The police unit in Thuan An inspected the karaoke parlor four times between 2019 and 2022 and concluded that the facility complied with regulations on fire prevention and control.

The venue has been booked five times for violations such as operating beyond curfews and failure to sign labor contracts with employees, with fines totaling VND35 million (US$1,487).

No illegal activities such as drug use and strip dancing were recorded at the place, the chairman stated.

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