A fire broke out early Sunday morning at a house in Vietnam's southern Binh Duong province, killing a couple and their two kids.

The fire after midnight in Thu Dau Mot city killed the house's owner, his wife and their children aged three and nine, the municipal police said.

Many local people rushed to help when they saw the fire, but the house's two doors were locked. After fight-fighters managed to get inside the house, they found the four already dead, with the woman embracing her daughter.

A total of 3,256 fires and explosions broke out across Vietnam last year, killing 135 people and injuring 278 others, while leaving losses of some 1,474 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 66.1 million U.S. dollars), said the country's Fire Prevention and Fight Department.

source: Xinhua