<p>The death toll from a fire that tore through a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam has risen to 23, an official said Wednesday.</p>.<p>The blaze engulfed the second floor of the building on Tuesday night, trapping customers and staff as dense smoke filled the staircase and blocked the emergency exit, reports said.</p>.<p>Many crowded onto a balcony to escape the flames, which grew quickly as they caught the wooden interior, while others were forced to jump from the building, state media added.</p>.<p>Photos showed plumes of smoke billowing out of the bar -- located in a crowded residential neighbourhood in Thuan An city, north of commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City in Binh Duong province -- as firefighters on cranes tried to extinguish the blaze.</p>.<p>"We are still searching for more victims but the death toll so far is 23, and 11 people injured," Mai Hung Dung, a top official with the ruling Communist Party in Binh Duong, told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>Authorities had previously put the death toll at 12.</p>.<p>The initial cause of the fire was said to be an electrical short circuit, state media reported, citing a report by Binh Duong authorities.</p>.<p>Witness Nguyen Sang, who lives near the karaoke bar, told the VnExpress news site that when fire trucks arrived at the scene, a receptionist said there were 40 people stuck inside.</p>.<p>"Many people ran outside through the main entrance, but many others could not stand the heat and they jumped down, breaking their hands and legs," Sang said.</p>.<p>Rescue workers searched through the night for anyone trapped in the 30-room bar, according to state media.</p>.<p>Police said the karaoke facility's fire prevention regulations had been checked prior to the blaze, it added.</p>.<p>In what was previously Vietnam's deadliest fire, 13 people died in a 2018 blaze in an apartment complex in Ho Chi Minh City.</p>.<p>In 2016, a blaze in a karaoke bar in the capital Hanoi left 13 people dead, prompting a country-wide assessment of fire prevention measures at bars and clubs.</p>.<p>Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday ordered a further inspection of high-risk venues, especially karaoke bars.</p>.<p>Last month, three firefighters died after trying to extinguish a fire at another karaoke bar in Hanoi.</p>
<p>The death toll from a fire that tore through a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam has risen to 23, an official said Wednesday.</p>.<p>The blaze engulfed the second floor of the building on Tuesday night, trapping customers and staff as dense smoke filled the staircase and blocked the emergency exit, reports said.</p>.<p>Many crowded onto a balcony to escape the flames, which grew quickly as they caught the wooden interior, while others were forced to jump from the building, state media added.</p>.<p>Photos showed plumes of smoke billowing out of the bar -- located in a crowded residential neighbourhood in Thuan An city, north of commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City in Binh Duong province -- as firefighters on cranes tried to extinguish the blaze.</p>.<p>"We are still searching for more victims but the death toll so far is 23, and 11 people injured," Mai Hung Dung, a top official with the ruling Communist Party in Binh Duong, told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>Authorities had previously put the death toll at 12.</p>.<p>The initial cause of the fire was said to be an electrical short circuit, state media reported, citing a report by Binh Duong authorities.</p>.<p>Witness Nguyen Sang, who lives near the karaoke bar, told the VnExpress news site that when fire trucks arrived at the scene, a receptionist said there were 40 people stuck inside.</p>.<p>"Many people ran outside through the main entrance, but many others could not stand the heat and they jumped down, breaking their hands and legs," Sang said.</p>.<p>Rescue workers searched through the night for anyone trapped in the 30-room bar, according to state media.</p>.<p>Police said the karaoke facility's fire prevention regulations had been checked prior to the blaze, it added.</p>.<p>In what was previously Vietnam's deadliest fire, 13 people died in a 2018 blaze in an apartment complex in Ho Chi Minh City.</p>.<p>In 2016, a blaze in a karaoke bar in the capital Hanoi left 13 people dead, prompting a country-wide assessment of fire prevention measures at bars and clubs.</p>.<p>Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday ordered a further inspection of high-risk venues, especially karaoke bars.</p>.<p>Last month, three firefighters died after trying to extinguish a fire at another karaoke bar in Hanoi.</p>