HANOI, Vietnam >> Vietnamese police say nine friends died during a lunar New Year party after they started a car parked inside a house to play music following an electricity outage.

Police in Hai Phong said Monday that seven men and two women, all in their 20s, died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning early Sunday.

A police officer says the car was started after the power went out. Its headlights and stereo were turned on inside the 215-square-foot house, which had all windows and doors closed. The officer identified himself only as Le because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Pham Van Thuc, 27, owned the house, and he and his fiance were among the dead. Le says the man’s father discovered the bodies Sunday afternoon.