Apartment fire in Nha Trang triggers panic among hundreds of residents

Hundreds of residents fled in panic on Sunday as smoke and flames erupted from an apartment in the Muong Thanh Vien Trieu complex in the coastal Nha Trang city.

At 6 p.m., smoke began to billow from an apartment situated on the 25th floor of the Muong Thanh Vien Trieu complex's OC3 building. The fire rapidly escalated within minutes, triggering the fire alarm and prompting a mass evacuation by hundreds of residents within the complex.

In response to the incident, the building's electrical system was cut off, resulting in a brief operation of elevators before they ceased to function. With the elevators unavailable, many residents had no choice but to evacuate using the stairs.

The chaotic scene unfolded as residents ran in panic, leading to some injuries from falls, and others becoming trapped in malfunctioning elevators. Thao, a resident residing on the 28th floor, described the pandemonium, noting that her family, upon hearing the fire alarm, hurriedly descended the stairs while alerting fellow residents.

Responding swiftly to the emergency, over 50 firefighters and five fire trucks were dispatched to the location. However, the challenge arose as ladder trucks were unable to reach the specific apartment where the fire originated. Consequently, dozens of firefighters equipped with oxygen masks and specialized firefighting gear had to approach the scene via the stairs to contain and extinguish the fire.

The fire was eventually brought under control after 30 minutes. No mortality cases were reported, and several injured people were taken to the hospital. One person, who was trapped in one of the building's elevators for nearly 20 minutes, was also rescued.

The apartment where the fire initiated was occupied by a teacher couple. They managed to escape when the fire broke out and sought help from the building's emergency response team. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Muong Thanh Vien Trieu complex, located on the coastal Pham Van Dong street, consists of 5 apartment buildings and a hotel. The building where the fire occurred is 40 floors high and accommodates around 500 residents and tourists.