Apartment complex fire kills 8 in Vietnam's southern city

HANOI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Eight people, including six adults and two children, were killed in a fire late Sunday night at a residential complex in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The fire broke out at around 10 p.m. local time at a ground-floor unit of an apartment complex in Phu Tho Hoa ward.

Neighbors attempted to extinguish the flames using portable fire extinguishers, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

The blaze quickly spread, prompting a chaotic evacuation as residents fled the building in panic.

Many vehicles, including motorbikes, bicycles and cars, were found completely destroyed by the fire.

According to Vietnam's National Statistics Office, a total of 1,723 fires and explosions occurred nationwide in the first half of this year, resulting in 48 deaths and 75 injuries.■