The blaze began around 10 p.m. in an apartment on the first floor of Doc Lap building on Do Doc Long Street in Phu Tho Hoa Commune, which was formerly Tan Phu District.

Neighbors attempted to extinguish the flames with portable fire extinguishers but failed. The fire quickly intensified, engulfing the building’s front facade.

Multiple ambulances, fire trucks, and firefighters rushed to the scene.

According to the Region 4 Emergency and Rescue Team, eight victims – six adults and two children – were found dead on the first floor and transported to the Binh Hung Hoa Mortuary.

The victims were from two families. Four of them were a married couple, aged 38 and 40, and their two children, aged 7 and 11, according to authorities.

Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control by 1 a.m. Monday.

Hau, a local resident, said he heard multiple explosions from the burning apartment and witnessed the intense flames. “After the fire was out, I saw police carrying out four victims wrapped in blankets,” he recalled.

The apartment where the fire started housed a car and several motorbikes, all burned to their frames. The heat caused the corrugated iron roof to collapse and warped the building’s steel frames and doors.

The apartment is part of a decades-old residential complex made up of two buildings with more than 100 units. Each unit spans 45–60 square meters and sits along a 6-meter-wide alley on Do Doc Long Street, around 100 meters off Doc Lap Street.

Authorities continued to cordon off the area hours after the fire was extinguished.

The moment of residence in Ho Chi Minh City caught fire