Authorities cordon off the narrow alley leading to the fire scene, Feb. 5. — Photo laodong.vn

HCM CITY — A woman and her two children were killed in an overnight house fire in a narrow alley in HCM City early on Thursday, authorities said.

The blaze broke out shortly after midnight on February 5 at a small house on Tô Ký Street in Đông Hưng Thuận Ward.

Neighbours reported seeing thick smoke and flames rising from the building, which sits deep inside an alley roughly 2m wide, about 200m from Chợ Cầu 2 Bridge.

Inside the house at the time were a 44-year-old woman and her two children – a 14-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son – who were asleep when the fire erupted. As the flames spread rapidly, the three became trapped.

Residents rushed to the scene after hearing shouts and a neighbourhood fire alarm, attempting to break down doors and douse the fire with water hoses and handheld extinguishers.

Their efforts were hampered by intense heat at the front of the house and multiple locked doors.

Firefighters and rescue officers arrived within minutes and brought the blaze under control after about 15 minutes, officials said.

When emergency crews entered the house, they found the woman and her daughter in the bathroom and the boy in a bedroom. All three were on the ground floor and had died at the scene.

The house, measuring about 50sq.m, is surrounded by tightly packed tube houses typical of older residential areas.

The roof area of the house, where an opening leads up to the corrugated metal roof.

It had a single bedroom and a front entrance secured by both a metal gate and a wooden door. The fire destroyed much of the interior and household furnishings.

Neighbours said the woman had previously worked as an accountant and more recently ran a small coffee-roasting business, supplying local distributors. Her husband was away on a work trip in Lâm Đồng Province at the time of the incident.

“It was after midnight when the fire alarm went off,” said one neighbour.

“People shouted and ran out, but the house was locked tightly and the smoke was already very thick.”

Authorities have cordoned off the area, carried out forensic examinations and removed the bodies for further investigation. — VNS