Around 10 PM on 4/1, residents noticed smoke rising from the house, prompting them to alert authorities. As the door was locked from the inside, My Phuoc Tay ward police and residents had to use tools to break it open.

Authorities secure the scene. Photo: Nam An

Inside, they found one child unconscious on the floor near the rear exit and another motionless in a bedroom. Both were rushed to Cai Lay Regional General Hospital but did not survive due to smoke inhalation.

Preliminary information indicates that Tran Tien Duc (37, from Vinh Phuc province) and his wife rented the house, living there with their two children.

Every day, Duc and his wife traveled to Binh Dien wholesale market in Ho Chi Minh City to collect agricultural products, which they then sold at Cai Lay market. Their two children stayed home unsupervised.

Authorities determined the initial cause of the fire was likely an electrical short circuit.

Nam An