According to preliminary information, the blaze broke out at 12:30 in the Elite Fitness Centre on the third floor of Vincom Centre Dong Khoi, filling the building with thick black smoke and causing people to flee the area in panic.

The building’s security responded immediately to help residents escape the danger and tackled the fireas best they could.

After the alarm was raised, firefighters were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the fire. Hundreds of the building’s residents were evacuated as traffic police and other forces also rushed to the scene to help. The streets of Le Thanh Ton and Le Tu Trong were closed off for rescue work to be carried out and the fire was quickly brought under control.

The initial cause is attributed to a fault in the pipe system of a steam room in the Elite Fitness Centre.