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Fire at 'Kong: Skull Island' premiere in Vietnam causes panic

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Film fans were left scrambling to safety after a giant model of King Kong caught fire at the Vietnam premiere of new movie Kong: Skull Island.

Movie lovers and VIP guests who attended the red carpet event, including Vietnamese officials and U.S. consular officials, in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday got more than they bargained for when a huge replica of the famous ape went up in flames.

The blaze, which reportedly started at around 7 p.m. by a discarded torch used by a fire dancer, quickly spread and ended up taking over the entire five-metre high structure. Luckily no one was injured and the fire was put out after just five minutes alight.

“Due to a mistake from one of the (fire) dancers, part of the stage caught fire and spread to all of the decorations,” bosses at Vietsin Commercial Complex Development, the organization in charge of the shopping mall where the event took place, said in a statement.

Social media lit up with comments from locals on the incident, with one Facebook user known as Hoang Quoc Hiep joking it was “better than watching a 3D movie”.

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and the film’s stars, including Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson, filmed numerous scenes in the country and found it provided the perfect backdrop for the title location.

Kong: Skull Island is in cinemas now.

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