A fierce fire broke out in the old quarter, built under the French rule period, in HCM City in the morning of January 13.

The fire occurred at the corner of Le Thi Hong Gam-Pho Duc Chinh roads in District 1, less than 200 meters from the Ben Thanh market. Smoke from the fire covered the area in a radius of 300m. Nearby roads were blocked.

When the fire broke out, hundreds of people went into panic. They ran out of their houses. As the fire expanded, they tried to rescue their assets.

Locals said that the fire began from the second floor of an old house and it quickly spread to nearby houses.

Hundreds of firefighters and dozens of fire trucks were sent to the site. The fire was stamped out after over one hour. No one was injured but around a dozen of houses and assets were burnt down.

Police are investigating.

PV