Hanoi — Police in Vietnam have arrested a man suspected of starting a blaze that killed 11 following an argument with staff in a Hanoi cafe, authorities said on Thursday, while two of seven pulled from the flames were admitted to hospital. 

In a statement, police said the man had confessed to using gasoline to set Wednesday’s fire on the ground floor of the three-story cafe, where people were also singing karaoke-style. 

The suspect is in his early 50s, said the state-run Tien Phong newspaper, adding that one witness reported hearing an explosion.  

“The fire blocked all the exits,” another witness told the paper. “The smell of gasoline was strong.”  

It took about 40 minutes to rein in the fire, reported just after 11 p.m., police added, with two of the seven rescued admitted to hospital.  

Images in an online newspaper, VnExpress, showed firemen working to douse the flames, while the bodies of several victims were carried away. 

“I noticed a column of smoke from afar,” it cited a witness as saying. “I was so frightened that I had to urge my grandchild to go downstairs.” 

“The flames were so fierce. We saw the fire … but there was nothing else we could do.” 

On Thursday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for urgent investigation and strict action against anyone who violated the law. 
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