On 3/5, leaders of Da Nang City Police announced they had worked with driver Nguyen Vo Duy An (24) and the owner of the 5-seater car to investigate the cause of the car fire at Petrolimex Station 90 (Thang Dien commune), which resulted in the deaths of two teenagers two days prior.

Regarding An not opening the car doors or notifying others that there were people inside when the fire first erupted, he stated it was due to "extreme panic from the sudden car fire" that he ran away. However, authorities will continue to verify the veracity of this statement.

"I have directed an investigation to clarify if there was any hidden meaning behind this action," stated Colonel Nguyen Ha Lai, Deputy Director of Da Nang City Police and head of the investigative police agency.

Security camera footage shows driver An (in a black shirt) appearing panicked when the car exploded and caught fire, and not opening the rear doors for the two victims to escape.

Authorities determined that at the time of the incident, the car was carrying about 20-25 24V battery packs and nine fully charged toy electric car batteries. Driver An was an employee of the car owner, hired to transport the two victims to their workplace. The batteries in the car did not belong to the driver.

According to Da Nang City Police leaders, if forensic results determine that transporting these batteries violated safety regulations, leading to a fatal fire, authorities could criminally prosecute the driver and car owner for violating fire prevention and fighting regulations.

Additionally, investigators are requesting forensic examination of the battery packs and the car's electrical system to clarify the cause of the explosion.

Video of the entire fire incident.

The fire occurred at 15h25 on 1/5, when Vo Nguyen Duy An drove the car into pump number one to refuel. At that time, Tran Huu Tri, 17, and Duong Anh Kiet, 16, were in the car. As the attendant pulled out the pump nozzle, the rear trunk suddenly exploded, and flames quickly engulfed the entire vehicle.

Security cameras recorded driver An pausing for a moment before running outside to make a phone call. Gas station staff and local residents used fire extinguishers to put out the fire within 15 minutes.

According to a witness who directly participated in extinguishing the fire, people focused on extinguishing the flames from the outside when the car caught fire because they were unaware there were occupants inside. After the fire was controlled, authorities inspected the vehicle and discovered the bodies of the two teenagers.

At the scene, the 5-seater car was completely burned. One gas pump was also severely damaged.

Ngoc Truong