13 killed in karaoke fire in Vietnam, state media says

HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnamese state media say a fire at a karaoke parlor has killed 13 people in the country’s capital.

They said the fire broke out Tuesday afternoon at an eight-story karaoke parlor in Hanoi and quickly spread to several nearby buildings housing restaurants and other karaoke parlors. It took firefighters about five hours to put out the fire.

Online newspaper VnExpress quoted Maj. Gen. Doan Viet Manh of the fire department as saying that 13 bodies were recovered from the scene.

Government officials were not available for comment late Tuesday.

In a statement on the government website, Premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked local authorities to search for victims and ordered police to carry out a prompt investigation and punish anyone who violated the law.