On September 8, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited victims and worked with Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee, Party Committee and People's Committee of Thuan An City on the aftermath dealing work after the fire at An Phu karaoke bar. During this visit, the Deputy Prime Minister visited and encouraged the victims who were being treated at hospitals; shared the pain and loss with families having their loved one died in this fire...
Immediately after the fire broke out, functional forces quickly arrived on the scene to rescue victims, minimized the damage.
To overcome the pain together
Firstly, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited An Phu General Hospital, where the injured victim is currently being treated. He graciously inquired about their health condition and gave gifts to the victims. After that, the Deputy Prime Minister met and asked doctors and nurses to perform carefully the examination and treatment for the victims to soon recover and be discharged from the hospital.
Then leaders of Provincial People's Committee and Provincial Public Security accompanied Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam to the scene of An Phu karaoke bar (An Phu ward, Thuan An city) to examine and direct relevant forces to investigate and clarify the cause of the fire. Colonel Trinh Ngoc Quyen, Director of the Provincial Public Security, reported on the coordination with Ministry of Public Security to urgently examine the scene, identify victims, and take steps to tackle the case according to regulations.
The third destination of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on September 8 was the house of one of the unfortunate deceased victims at Phu Hoa ward, Thu Dau Mot city. The Deputy Prime Minister gave his condolences to the family and hoped that family members could soon overcome the pain and continue their lives.
Earlier, in the morning of September 8, the Provincial People's Committee held a press conference to officially update information about the fire at An Phu karaoke bar. According to information at the press conference, as of 9:30 pm on September 9, 32 people were found dead. After the initial identification, the victims included 15 women, 17 men.
Before the blaze happened, 5/30 rooms had guests singing, including about 30 guests and 30 staff. When the flame spread, everyone in the bar panicked and found a way out. Some people were able to get out in time, while others were trapped and died.
Leaders of Thuan An City People's Committee said that An Phu karaoke bar is eligible for opening based on legal documents, including: Business license, certificate of design appraisal and approval for fire prevention and fighting; written certification of acceptance of fire protection system; certificate of satisfaction of security and order conditions, tax registration certificate, karaoke business license.
Nguyen Thanh Tam, Vice Chairman of Thuan An City People's Committee, said: “In light of this unfortunate incident, we extend our condolences to the victims of the fire. Immediately after receiving report on the fire at An Phu karaoke bar, local leaders quickly directed functional forces to perform firefighting and rescue work. After the blaze was extinguished, the search, rescue, and first aid for the victims were urgently carried out by specialized forces in order to minimize the loss. Thuan An city support each deceased victim VND30 million; in which VND20 million from state budget, 10 million from socialization source. Thuan An City also gave VND5 million to each patient being treated at An Phu General Hospital. The owner of An Phu karaoke bar also provided financial supports for the victims.
Need to investigate the matter as soon as possible
In the afternoon, when he arrived at the scene, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam asked Binh Duong authorities to investigate and clarify fatal fire at the karaoke bar as soon as possible. Colonel Trinh Ngoc Quyen informed that the police had asked the authorities to soon investigate and take legal action.
Thuan An city has nearly 1,000 business establishments subject to security and order conditions, including over 50 karaoke business establishments. The authorities regularly opened peak periods to check karaoke business establishments, motels, massage parlors, etc. to promptly detect violations related to security and order, fire prevention fighting and rescue. Only over the first months of 2022, Thuan An City Police and related units conducted administrative inspections of 902 conditional business establishments, including 53 inspections of karaoke business establishments. The functional forces detected, made a record of 779 violation cases, issued decision to impose administrative penalty on 725 cases with a total penalty of nearly VND969 million; proposed the City People's Committee to fine 12 cases with total amount of VND233 million. An Phu karaoke bar owned by Mr. Le Anh Xuan has been opened since 2016. Functional forces repeatedly checked and detected many violations but only at the level of administrative penalty.
To share the pain with the victims of the fire, recently leaders of Provincial People's Committee has directed to promptly support the victims. Initially, 5 million VND was given to each injured person and 30 million VND to each dead person. Regarding the cause of the fire, it was initially determined to be an electrical short.
By T.Trang, H.Phuoc - Translated by Ngoc Huynh
