Hanoi: At least 54 people died and scores were missing after a huge fire swept through an office block heavily populated by foreign companies in Vietnam's Southern hub of Ho Chi Minh city on October 29, state media said.

Fire fighters struggled for five hours to put out the blaze at the Saigon International Business Centre in District One, the heart of the city.

Eyewitnesses described how office workers trapped inside the six-storey building had jumped from windows to escape the inferno in Vietnam's vibrant business and investment capital.

Local residents said the fire was caused by an electrical fault, but city mayor Le Thanh Hai said the reason for the blaze was not yet known.

Nguyen Van Niem, a foreign ministry official in Ho Chi Minh City, said, "No evidence has been found that this was related to terrorism."

Emergency services have recovered 48 bodies so far but warned the death toll could rise as many others remained unaccounted for, Vietnam Television (VTV) news said, adding that around 500 people worked in the building.

Six people also died from injuries in the hospital, according to local television reports in Ho Chi Minh City.

A further 59 people have been rushed to hospital, with one-third of them in a life- threatening condition. However, no details were available on the nationalities of the victims.

Companies from Australia, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the United States have offices in the centre.