The victim recounted the moment he escaped death in a hotel fire in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City While sleeping, Ms. Thanh suffocated as black smoke rushed in, covering the room, the walls were hot, nearby guests were calling for help, smashing the window glass to try to escape.

"At that time, the smoke was thick, it stung my eyes, it was difficult to breathe, and the surrounding area was extremely hot," Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, 48 years old, recalled being stuck in the hotel on Tan Ky Tan Quy street, Tan Son Nhi ward, where the fire left two people dead and 17 injured.

Lying on a bed at Thong Nhat Hospital, her skin covered in black smoke and burning, Ms. Thanh said that yesterday afternoon she drove from Ben Tre to Ho Chi Minh City, rented a hotel room to be examined for hepatitis at the Hospital of Tropical Diseases this morning. Even though it was nearly 10 km from the clinic, she still chose this hotel because it was recommended by an acquaintance, the price was only 250,000 VND per day.

The hotel is about 4 m wide, more than 20 m long, with 6 floors and a terrace. Each floor has 3-4 rooms, mainly for short-term, hourly rentals. Due to the weekend, the hotel is nearly full. Ms. Thanh is located on the first floor, 15 m2 room, about 5 m from the wooden stairs, next to the elevator.

Tired after a long car ride and having to go to the doctor early tomorrow morning, she checked in and went to bed. At around 5 a.m., she was awakened by screams and broken glass. The electricity in the room went out, the surroundings became dark, and smoke began to pour in.

She looked for her phone and handbag but could only bring a small bag containing re-examination papers. Coughing from suffocation, she opened the door but the smoke outside was so thick that she could not see her way.

In the dark, she waved her hand to find the wall and then followed the stairs.

"At that time, the wall was hot. I ran back and forth, hit the stair handrail, then crawled down the main door and was helped out by firefighters," she said.

On the third floor, Ms. Hai, 38 years old, from the old Bac Lieu hometown, was also sleeping when she heard loud noises like broken glass. She turned on her phone's flashlight and opened the door, but outside was thick with black smoke.

Many people shouted "it's on fire", cried, and heard footsteps running across the floor. She found her way to the stairs for about 5 minutes, but due to difficulty breathing, she collapsed in the hallway.

"I couldn't find a way down and was exhausted, so I could only sit and recite Buddhist scriptures," Ms. Hai said. At that moment, a young man grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She tried her best to run and escape.

The woman said she had rented a room at the hotel for about a week. Before the fire broke out, the ground floor area, next to the reception desk, had more than a dozen motorbikes but all of them were burned down.

Because the fire started from the ground floor, near the staircase area, smoke quickly spread to the upper floors. Most of the building is covered with concrete and the facade is covered with signs, making it difficult for smoke to escape and penetrate into the rooms.

Nearly 20 tenants on the upper floors couldn't escape via the stairs and had to run to the rooftop to ask for help. The area has emergency stairs installed but only extends to the 5th floor.

About 48 soldiers from the Fire Prevention Team of Area 13, 1.7 km from the scene, arrived 4 minutes after receiving the news. Police deployed three firefighting and rescue missions, pulling water hoses to put out the fire and using smoke extractors to limit the spread of toxic gases from the ground floor.

After that, soldiers wearing gas masks and carrying oxygen tanks entered each room to look for trapped people.

Corporal Nguyen Duy Anh said that when he arrived at the scene, many guests on the lower floors had escaped and reported that there were still people trapped above. He and his teammates immediately ran to the floors to search.

"Even though I wore gloves, I still clearly felt the heat from the wall," he said.

Coming to the rooftop, Corporal Anh saw nearly 20 people slumped down, panicking, their clothes and faces covered in black smoke. Some people collapsed on the floor, spitting out black substances due to long-term smoke inhalation.

He reassured the victims, then and his teammates removed masks and air tanks to assist those who had difficulty breathing.

The soldiers divided each other to bring each person to the ground. Some exhausted victims were carried by police across the stairs.

"The path is narrow and slippery, so I had to carry the victim slowly to avoid tripping and falling," Corporal Duy Anh said.

After about 10 minutes, nearly 20 trapped people were brought out safely.

Emergency Center 115 mobilized 7 ambulances from 6 nearby hospitals to the scene. More than a dozen medical staff bandaged burns and gave first aid to 17 victims on the sidewalk before being transferred to the hospital, many of whom suffered from CO (Carbon monoxide) poisoning and respiratory damage.

CO poisoning is the leading cause of death in fires. This gas is colorless, odorless, reduces oxygen in the blood, causes headaches, dizziness, difficulty breathing, impaired consciousness and can cause rapid death when heavily exposed.