Eight killed in Vietnam cake factory fire

Eight people were killed Saturday after a fire ripped through a small cake factory in a suburb of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, an official said.

The flames erupted on Saturday morning, trapping workers inside the factory in Hoai Duc district, according to state media.

“Eight people have died already, while two others injured and they are hospitalised,” Nguyen Xuan Mau, head of the local communist party committee, told AFP.

“The fire was extinguished at around 12pm,” Mau added.

Photos on state media showed charred sheets of metal roofing collapsed inside the building, which was gutted by the blaze.

Witnesses said there were nearly 20 workers inside the factory at the time of the fire, according to An Ninh Thu Do newspaper, the official mouthpiece of Hanoi police.

The cause is still under investigation.

Blazes are relatively common at houses, bars and restaurants in Vietnam, where fire prevention and firefighting resources are limited.

Last November 13 people died after a fire tore through a multi-storey karaoke bar also in Hanoi. Eleven of the victims were government workers enjoying a staff party.

In May 2014, five people burned to death in a fire at a karaoke bar in Hanoi after an electrical fault triggered a massive blaze.