A fire in an apartment block in Hanoi, Vietnam, killed dozens of people on Tuesday night, state media reported today, citing a first official report.
About 50 people were taken to hospitals in the capital, including “dozens dead,” the official Vietnam News Agency wrote.
“This is a very serious fire,” he added, noting that rescue teams managed to get 70 people out of the burning building.
The fire broke out shortly before midnight (6:00 p.m. in Lisbon), according to witness reports.
Videos broadcast by Vietnamese media reveal the magnitude of the fire, which spread throughout a large part of the ten-story building, located in a narrow alley in a residential area of Hanoi.
“We can’t help much. There is no emergency exit, so it is impossible for the victims to escape,” Hoa, a local resident, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
In recent years, Vietnam has been the scene of several deadly fires, raising suspicions that basic safety standards are not being respected.
Last year, a fire at a karaoke bar near Ho Chi Minh City in the south of the country killed 32 people.
Source: TSF
