At around 2 p.m., workers at the Long Binh industrial park in Bien Hoa, the province's capital, heard a loud explosion at the ink manufacturing facility of the Arirang Chemical Company. Flames soon engulfed the facility before spreading over a 1,000 square meters area of the park.

"As I began my shift, I heard an explosion which sounded like a short circuit. Then the flames appeared and everyone told each other to run. The fire spread so fast that there wasn't enough time to evacuate anything," a worker said.

The fire at the site, which stores several types of chemicals including ink and plastic beads, produced columns of black smokes rising hundreds of meters, along with loud explosions.

Around 100 firefighters and 10 fire trucks were later dispatched, but intial efforts to put out the flames were not successful. By 3:45 p.m., the flames haven't stopped raging and still posed a threat to surrounding areas.

The Arirang Chemical produces ink, paints and other products for the packaging industry.