Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam—A muffled detonation echoed across the dark waters of the Saigon River at 11:00 PM. A small wooden transport boat erupted in sudden flames near the central commercial wharf. Thick black smoke billowed into the humid night sky as fire consumed the cabin structure.
Nearby river transport operators rushed toward the burning vessel with buckets and portable extinguishers. Water police patrol boats arrived minutes later, deploying high-pressure foam hoses to suppress the fierce blaze. Rescuers pulled three severely burned occupants from the water onto a rescue pontoon.
Tuoi Tre News confirmed that one woman succumbed to her injuries at the riverbank triage station. Paramedics transported the two surviving crew members to the municipal general hospital for emergency burn treatment. Hospital staff reported both patients are currently in critical condition.
Maritime police and fire investigators boarded the charred hull once the flames were extinguished. Initial forensic examinations point toward a leaking cooking gas cylinder inside the cabin as the source of the blast. The wooden vessel suffered catastrophic structural damage and sank partially into the shallows.
Port authorities suspended local vessel operations near the blast site to clear floating debris. Investigators seized remaining equipment fragments from the wreckage for laboratory testing. Grieving relatives arrived at the municipal morgue early Monday morning to complete identification procedures.
Published by Banx Network. This article is part of the Banx decentralized media programme, powered by the BXE token on the XRP Ledger.
