Witness records the moment the victims escaped
As of 10:00 a.m. on December 5, Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's professional units were still coordinating with Cau Ong Lanh Ward Police to block off and examine the scene of the restaurant fire on Tran Hung Dao Street.
The incident occurred at more than 4:00 a.m. the same day, when a fire suddenly broke out at a 4-storey house for rent at a restaurant on Tran Hung Dao Street, Cau Ong Lanh Ward. Discovering the fire, local residents shouted and tried to put out the fire but failed.
Upon receiving the report, Cau Ong Lanh Ward Police coordinated with the Fire Fighting and Rescue Team of Area 1 (under the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City Police) to put out the fire and rescue people.
Talking to reporters at the scene, Ms. Trinh (who has a house opposite the fire area) recounted: "The fire broke out at around 4am, the sound of the explosion was very loud. The staff had to run around outside."
Ms. Trinh said that immediately after that, smoke rose, covering the entire area. "I ran here and saw smoke rising. Many fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene," she said.
The witness added that the fire fighting and rescue work took place very quickly because right next to it was the Fire Prevention and Fighting Center and the general hospital.
As a person who directly witnessed the fire at a restaurant on Tran Hung Dao Street, Ms. H. (who has a house next to the scene) said that at the time of the fire, she woke up and heard a loud noise. When she ran out, she saw smoke and fire. She looked up at the rooftop of the restaurant and saw the two people shouting, inside she heard many explosions and screams.
She looked up at the second floor window of the burning house and saw the two people calling for help. Immediately after that, Ms. H. witnessed them jumping into the ground, luckily hit the tree, so she was only injured.
At the same time, Ms. H. said that another person crawled out of the window on the 2nd floor and climbed through the railing of the house next door, then was brought down safely by the authorities. Ms. H. was also one of the people who provided first aid to the victims at the scene.
4 cases of cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest before hospitalization
Regarding the fire at a restaurant on Tran Hung Dao Street (Cau Ong Lanh Ward), on the morning of December 5, a representative of the 115 Emergency Center (HCMC) informed that the unit had dispatched 3 ambulances, including 2 from the unit and 1 from Gia Dinh People's Hospital, Facility 2 (Saigon General Hospital) to the scene of the fire.
The team of Gia Dinh People's Hospital - Facility 2, arrived at 4:55 am, performed emergency care and transferred 3 victims (women aged 18, female aged 21, and female aged 35.) to the hospital at 5:15 am.
At the same time, the on-duty team of the 115 Emergency Center continued to bring 3 more cases to Gia Dinh People's Hospital ( Facility 2), including a 40-year-old woman, a 2-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl.
A total of 6 victims were admitted to Facility 2. Of which, two cases were still conscious, the remaining four cases were purple, cardiac arrest, and respiratory arrest before arriving at the hospital.
At the Emergency - Resuscitation Department, the two patients were assessed to be stable after being assessed for injury risk and were transferred to Gia Dinh People's Hospital ( facility 1) for further monitoring.
For the remaining four cases, although the crew of Gia Dinh People's Hospital coordinated with Children's Hospital 2 to deploy intensive resuscitation and activate ECMO techniques, the victims did not survive due to the serious condition before being hospitalized. The deaths include: a 40-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman, a 2-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl.
The hospital said it is continuing to support, closely monitor the condition of the two survivors and coordinate with the authorities in handling the case. The unit has reported the incident to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health.
