1 dead, 12 injured as gas shop explosion knocks down houses in Ho Chi Minh City

A gas shop exploded in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, knocking down houses on Bui Van Ba Street in Tan Thuan Ward, formerly District 7, and leaving one person dead and 12 injured.

The shop, about 1 km from Tan Thuan Bridge, blew up at around 10:30 a.m. and caved in. The blast brought down two houses and cracked the walls and broke the tile and corrugated-iron roofs of five others.

The T-shaped gas shop, covering about 100 square meters, collapsed completely, while a fruit shop of about 50-60 square meters next door tilted to one side.

Steel frames and large slabs of concrete cracked and fell on some of the people inside. Thanh Tan, who lives near the scene, said the blast was very loud, and after the gas shop came down, two injured people covered in dust crawled out through a gap in the rubble.

"About five injured people were lifted out by police," he said.

The gas shop had operated for nearly 10 years in a row of adjoining shops fronting Bui Van Ba Street, surrounded by eateries. The stalls stood close together, with awnings and tarps stretched to the edge of the road, and multi-story houses were packed in behind the low-rise row.

Hoang Long, who lives just over one house away from the blast site, said he was indoors when he heard a loud explosion that shook everything around him.

He rushed outside to find part of his house sheared off and collapsed, while the two houses beside it had collapsed completely. His family shouted for help and ran out. No one in the family was hurt, but many of their belongings were damaged.

"Everyone is in a panic," Long said.

The explosion affected houses within a radius of about 100 m. The two houses that collapsed were the gas shop and a watch repair shop, and their fallen walls piled up into a mound about 10 m high.

Twisted sheets of corrugated iron lay scattered across the site, and gas cylinders of 12-20 kg were strewn beside the walls amid shattered bricks.

More than 30 police officers and two cranes were deployed to dismantle the structure and move large concrete slabs in search of people trapped inside, including the gas shop's owner, who was believed to be trapped at the back of the collapsed house.

Vibrations from the blast shattered windows and dislodged ceiling panels in several homes. Hung, who lives 50 m from the gas shop, said the explosion was very loud and was followed by a thick cloud of dust.

"Inside my house, I felt the walls and windows shake, and the ceiling was damaged, with some panels falling to the floor," he said.

Residents living near the scene said the gas shop often refilled mini gas canisters.

Pham Hong Loc, chairman of the Tan Thuan Ward People's Committee, said local authorities were focusing on handling the incident. More than 10 fire trucks and ambulances were sent to the scene, and about 1 km of Bui Van Ba Street was cordoned off for the rescue.

The blast flung concrete chunks and roller shutters onto the street, and several motorbikes were crushed by walls and steel frames from the collapsed house.

At 12:30 p.m., searchers found a person trapped in the rubble, and medical staff and ambulances were sent in to give emergency treatment.

At around 12:50 p.m., rescuers pulled out a man who had been trapped in the watch repair shop, with burns to his face and multiple injuries. Two more victims, a man and a woman, were then rescued from the collapsed house.

Col. Tran Hong Minh, deputy director of the HCMC Police Department, came to the scene to direct the rescue. At 1 p.m., as the search went on, two loud, bomb-like blasts went off in quick succession, shaking the area and alarming many people. More than 20 firefighters kept digging, using specialized equipment to clear the rubble in search of anyone still trapped.

Dr. Nguyen Duy Long, director of the HCMC 115 Emergency Center, said teams from five satellite emergency stations at hospitals had been sent to the scene.

By then, emergency crews had received and treated six victims, two of whom were taken to Tan Hung General Hospital and four to Khanh Hoi General Hospital. None was in critical condition at that point, and the center kept three medical teams at the scene because people were believed to still be trapped.

Col. Tran Trung Hieu, head of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Division of the HCMC Police, came to the scene to direct the search and rescue. Rescuers raced to move large concrete slabs blocking the way into the collapsed house and to dismantle structures, clearing a path to search for people buried in the rubble.

At around 2:20 p.m., rescuers brought more excavators into the area. The search for victims ended shortly before 3 p.m.