Trial for deadly fire in HCM City apartment building resumes

The blaze, which occurred at midnight on March 23, 2018 in the basement of Carina Plaza apartment building, killed 13 residents and injured 72 others. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The trial for a deadly fire in the Carina apartment building in HCM City, which took place more than five years ago and resulted in the deaths of 13 people and injured 72, resumed on Thursday after an eight-month delay.

The former director of Hùng Thanh Company, Nguyễn Văn Tùng, 46, and the former head of the Management Board, Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn, are being tried for violating regulations on fire prevention and fire fighting.

If found guilty, they face a penalty of seven to 12 years in prison.

The trial convened 640 victims and 70 other involved persons, but only eight people attended the court session.

Investigators found the cause of the fire was determined to be a malfunction in the electrical system of a vehicle.

According to the investigation, the fire started at midnight on March 23, 2018, from a scooter in the building’s basement parking lot, and spread for over 13 minutes without any alert as residents were asleep.

The fire quickly spread, resulting in 13 deaths, 72 injuries, and significant property damage.

The fire alarms did not go off, the automatic sprinklers in the building failed to deploy and the emergency lights did not come on.

All fire doors in the building had also been wedged open with bricks, allowing smoke to billow up to houses, causing most of the deaths.

So far, the developer of the Carina apartment complex has compensated victims of the fire with over VNĐ108 billion.

Prosecutors stated that Tùng was aware of the non-functioning fire alarm and fighting system but did not request for it to be repaired or replaced, while Tuấn, as the head of the building’s management board, did not fulfil his responsibilities in managing the safety systems.

Police said the fire could have been put out with a small extinguisher if there had been someone on guard at the time.

The trial is expected to last until December 25. — VNS