While travelling from the central city of Quang Nam to Ho Chi Minh City, a luxury bus with more than 30 people on board suddenly caught fire, near An Trinh village of My Hiep Commune in Phu My District in the central province of Binh Dinh.
As the coach reached An Trinh village, the 39-year-old driver Mai Van Thanh, from Quang Nam Province, heard a loud explosion near the rear of the vehicle, which soon burst into flames and slowly engulfed the entire bus.
All passengers panicked and rushed to get out. However, while the passengers escaped unhurt, all efforts to stamp out the fire failed and the entire vehicle was completely charred within a short time.
The estimated loss is said to be around VND3 billion (US$ 144,000).
In related news, hundreds of residents living in the Alley 618 on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street in Ward 11 in District 3 of Ho Chi Minh City, caused a virtual stampede when they saw the neighbouring house belonging to Nguyen Thanh Tam go up in flames.
Many people believe the fire started in the kitchen, spreading to the first floor of the house which had a wooden floor and several inflammable items. Fire engines from District 3 rushed to the spot and it was only after half an hour that they could stamp out the fire.
The entire property has been completely destroyed, along with two motorcycles parked inside. The loss is estimated around hundreds of millions of Vietnam dong.
