Carina apartment investor arrested after fire kills 13 people

Afternoon of April 20,Ho Chi Minh City police prosecuted and temporarily detainedMr. Nguyen Van Tung (41 years old, former Director of Hung Thanh Company) - the investor of Carina Plaza apartment building (District 8) about the accusationViolation of fire prevention and fighting regulationsaccording to Article 313 of the Penal Code.

Another officer ofHung Thanh Company isMr. Tran Quang Hai (45 years old, Head of City Gate Towers Project Management Board)is being summoned.

At 3:00 p.m., a car from the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department came to invite Mr. Tung to the police station in Ward 16, District 8, to carry out the legal steps.

Previously, the Board of Directors of Nam Bay Bay Company dismissed Mr. Tung from his position and appointed Mr. Hai as the company's representative to manage the capital at Hung Thanh Company in place of Mr. Tung.

During the investigation, the authorities discovered that Carina apartment building had lax fire prevention management. Many devices were not equipped.sound fire alarm system and on-site sprinkler fire extinguishing system...inactivity caused the fire to become a disaster, killing 13 people, hospitalized more than 90 people, and burning 340 motorbikes and 17 cars.

The representative of the investor of Carina apartment building said that the company strictly complies with the decisions of competent state agencies, and whoever commits a violation will be dealt with accordingly.

"We confirm that we are at fault in the fire. We hope that the competent authorities will clarify the extent of our fault and responsibility. Since the fire broke out, the investor and the support of the parent company (Nam Bay Bay Company) have been actively working to overcome the consequences," said a representative of the investor Carina.

The amount of money Carina has spent to repair the damage and compensate is more than 20 billion VND. The company has also asked SEJCO to coordinate the repair but they have not taken any specific action. Currently, the investor is directly working with the damaged residents to repair the consequences.

Hung Thanh Company previously hired SEJCO Company to perform the work.Currently managing operations, fire prevention, parking lot management of the apartment building... and other activities.

An electric spark came from the Attila at 1:15 a.m. on March 23. More than a minute later, smoke and a small fire appeared in the rear footwell area. Nearly 5 minutes later, a fire broke out at the front of the car. The fire grew larger over the course of 8 minutes, reaching the height of the basement ventilation pipe and spreading to surrounding motorbikes. The fire grew larger and larger, lasting for another 13 minutes before the power in the basement went out.

Up to this point, there were still no security guards or anyone else in the basement who discovered the fire. "If someone had been on duty, just a small fire extinguisher could have prevented the disaster," said Colonel Nguyen Minh Thong, Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's Investigation Department.

When the police examined the scene, all the emergency exits were open. These doors were automatically closed by a shaft, but if pushed past 90 degrees, they would swing open. In addition, the audible fire alarm system, the on-site sprinkler system, the water pump above... were all not working. In fact, no one had even manually reported the fire.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tung, who lives on the first floor of the Carina apartment building, was also injured in the fire and had to be hospitalized. Before that, Mr. Tung had been shot many times.refused the summons and worked with the investigation agency for health reasons.

Carina violated fire prevention regulations 3 times

From August 2012 to 2017, the fire police inspected the safety of this apartment building 21 times, and three times discovered violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations with the following errors: "the automatic fire alarm system was damaged, the fire water supply system and outdoor fire hydrant were not working"; "the diesel engine of the fire pump was not working", "the lighting in case of an incident was not working".

The investor was fined twice for non-functioning lighting systems. By the end of 2017, the Fire Police re-inspected and found no violations.However, when a fire broke out, the entire automatic fire alarm system and lighting system of Carina went out.

Carina Plaza apartment is located on a land area of ​​more than 19,000 m²on Vo Van Kiet street. The building consists of three blocks from 14 to 20 floors high, with commercial and entertainment areas... and more than 700 apartments.