The car that sustained severe damages and burns in its rear part. — Photo from Labourers Newspaper

ĐÀ NẴNG — A fire at a petrol station in Thăng Điền Commune, the central city of Đà Nẵng, on Friday afternoon left two people dead and damaged a vehicle and fuel pump, local authorities said.

Trương Công Sơn, Chairman of the Thăng Điền People’s Committee, said the blaze broke out at around 3.30pm at a petrol station in Tú Cẩm Village.

According to initial reports and witnesses at the scene, the flames started from the rear of the five-seater bearing licence plate 92A-265xx while gas was being pumped, before rapidly spreading and engulfing the entire cabin within minutes, and even spreading to a nearby fuel pump.

Two passengers in the backseat were later confirmed dead at the scene.

The victims were identified as T. H. T. (born 2009), from An Dưỡng Village, and Dương Anh K. (born 2010), from Tú Phương Village, both in Thăng Điền Commune. The driver, Võ Nguyễn Duy An (born 2002), a resident of Tú Nghĩa Village, was operating the vehicle at the time of the incident.

Petrol station staff and nearby residents attempted to extinguish the fire using on-site firefighting equipment, but efforts were hampered by intense heat and flammable materials inside the vehicle.

Fire and rescue forces arrived shortly after and brought the blaze under control within about 20 minutes, preventing it from spreading further.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. — VNS