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More than 100 people were killed in the fire that ravaged an office block in Vietnam's commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City and many others are missing, state media reported Wednesday.

Newspapers said more than 500 people were inside the six-storey Saigon International Business Centre, which houses many foreign companies, when the blaze erupted at lunchtime on Tuesday.

"Around 100 bodies have been discovered in the building including that of one foreigner," said The Lao Dong (labour) daily, without specifying a nationality.

The Ho Chi Minh City-based Tuoi Tre (youth) newspaper said many people were missing following the blaze, which began in the popular Blue discotheque, and that many injured were in a serious condition.

Investigators and rescue workers were Wednesday sifting through the charred hulk of the building in the centre of the booming southern city, which has become a magnet for foreign investment.

Local residents said the fire was triggered by an electrical fault, but city officials said more time was needed before disclosing their initial report into the cause.

Nguyen Van Niem, a Ho Chi Minh City-based foreign ministry official, told AFP "no evidence has been found that this was related to terrorism".

Nguyen Thanh Tai, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, warned the "final toll could be very high".

A local reporter for a state-run newspaper said more than 100 people were attending a wedding in the centre when the blaze broke out.

Eyewitnesses described how some people were killed after jumping from windows to escape the flames. Local news reports said six people died from their injuries in hospital.

Around 60 others were taken to medical centres across the city, with local officials saying one third of them were in a life-threatening condition.

Others were treated at the scene for shock and minor injuries.

The fire raged for over five hours before firefighters brought it under control, with the aid of some 20 fire trucks, including a handful from Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

However, state television said firefighters struggled to contain the blaze because of inadequate equipment and water shortages.

"Fighting the fire was very difficult. Many people were trapped inside," said Le Tan Vu, head of the city's firefighting force.

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

US giant American International Assurance (AIA) was also based on the second floor of the building, but so far there have been no confirmed deaths of any expatriate workers.

A foreign ministry official said late Tuesday that the bodies of those recovered were very disfigured that it was impossible to identify many of them.

Australian, British and US consular officials said they were working with city authorities to determine if any of their nationals had been killed or injured in the blaze.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, who was attending a training course organised by AIA on the fifth floor, managed to escape the building after shinning down a drainpipe.

She said more than 140 people were in the class but was unsure of their fate or that of an American man running the course.

Another AIA employee, who gave her name as Trang Nhung, said six staff members were missing.

All the bodies recovered from the site have been taken to military hospital No 175 for identification, according to city mayor Le Thanh Hai.

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