Karaoke bar fire kills 13 people due to 23-year-old man's fault

Hanoi police concluded that when cutting the hinge of the second floor door, the young welder let sparks fly up the wall, causing a fire at the karaoke bar at 68 Tran Thai Tong, burning 13 people to death.

Scene of the karaoke bar fire that killed 13 people. Photo: Ba Do

On November 9, the Investigation Police Agency, Hanoi Police announced the results of the investigation into the karaoke bar fire on Tran Thai Tong Street.

Accordingly, to renovate the house number 68 rented for 10 years into a karaoke bar, Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh hired Thien An Phu Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company to design, construct, and install fire prevention and fighting equipment. More than half a month since being granted the Fire Prevention and Fighting Design Approval Certificate, by October 31, Thien An Phu had completed 90% of the construction progress.

The conclusion showed that the system was not connected, so the devices were not working. The fire exit on the 2nd floor was not installed according to the owner's request; the water pipe of the automatic fire extinguishing system was designed to be installed with a D32 pipe but was changed to a D25 pipe; the installation of 60-minute fire-resistant glass walls on the 1st floor and 45-minute fire-resistant doors on the room doors had not been carried out.

On November 1, while the construction workers were removing the door on the 2nd floor, Ms. Linh still allowed guests to sing in rooms 502 and 601. The fire broke out at 1:30 p.m. the same day, when welder Hoang Van Tuan (23 years old) was cutting the hinges and let "fire and welding scales flow onto the floor and splash onto the wall". The fire from house 68 Tran Thai Tong spread to 3 houses of the same 8 floors next door.

After 7 hours of firefighting, authorities brought out 13 bodies. Most of the victims were students of the National Academy of Politics. After finishing their exams, the group of students held a party.

Currently, the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency has initiated a criminal case of Violation of regulations on fire prevention and fighting. The handling of responsibilities of related people is continuing to be verified.

According to VNE