A MAN from Bolton was one of two Britons killed when a horrific fire ripped through the International Trade Centre Centre in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City.

The 59-year-old, who has not yet been named, was among at least 59 people who died inside the six-storey building, where several international companies have offices.

A wedding reception was being held at the building, which had several floors of shops, restaurants, and discos. The British Consulate said they believed the dead man was employed at the trade centre.

Six staff working for the American International Assurance Company, which was training around 100 insurance agents at its office when the fire broke out, were still missing today.

But Jonathan Dunn, a spokesman at the British Consulate, said it was thought the Bolton man worked for a different company at the trade centre. Mr Dunn said: "We cannot release a name at the moment, but we can confirm that he was one of two Britons killed in the fire."

No details of the other Briton killed in the blaze were released.

The BBC's Clare Arthurs in Vietnam said the complex had only one fire escape and it took firefighters more than three hours to get suitable ladders to the scene.

About 500 people were inside the building when the fire broke out. Some reports say that as many as 100 could have died. Scores of injured people were taken to hospitals.

Companies from Britain, America, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand had offices in the building. City officials said the fire was the city's worst in terms of loss of life and property damage. Ho Chi Minh City was formerly called Saigon when it was the capital of South Vietnam.

The Lao Dong newspaper quoted firefighter Nguyen Van Quy as saying: "We have counted about 100 bodies on various floors of the trading centre, including one of a foreigner."