Gas Shop Explosion in Ho Chi Minh City Kills Two, Injures 12 as Two Houses Collapse

A suspected gas explosion at a gas shop on Bui Van Ba Street in Tan Thuan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, on Friday morning (November 13) collapsed two houses and damaged five more, killing at least two people and injuring 12, one of them critically with burns to about 90% of the body and respiratory damage. The cause is under investigation. (Photo: the scene of the collapsed buildings on Bui Van Ba Street. Image: VTV8.)

Blast like a bomb; house No. 81 destroyed

According to Vietnamese media, the explosion happened on Friday morning and was so powerful that witnesses described a blast "like a bomb"; the shock wave knocked motorbike riders off their bikes, and bricks and debris were scattered across the road. Police said the blast completely destroyed house No. 81 and seriously damaged houses Nos. 83 and 85; two houses collapsed and five were affected, and rescuers found several gas cylinders exposed in the rubble. Xinhua, citing VnExpress, reported that the explosion at the gas shop caused two shops to collapse.

Thirteen hospitalised; second body recovered from rubble in the afternoon

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that as of 3 p.m. on Friday, hospitals across the city had received 13 victims; one of them, who had suffered a traumatic brain injury, was transferred to People's Hospital 115 for intensive care and later died. In the afternoon, rescuers recovered a second body from the rubble, bringing the death toll to two. Another victim suffered burns to about 90% of the body and is in critical condition. Tran Van Bay, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, visited the scene on Friday afternoon to direct the search and rescue; police have sealed off the area, and the cause is under investigation. (Sources: Xinhua; VnExpress; Thanh Nien; Ho Chi Minh City Police; Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health.)