2023-09-13 11:16:52
Dozens of people were killed in a “very serious” fire in a residential building in Vietnam’s capital overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. Firefighters had to climb the facade of the building to access the floors.
Flames ravaged an apartment building in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, killing “several dozen” people overnight, state media said on Wednesday.
At least “54 people were taken to hospitals, including dozens already dead,” according to Vietnam’s official news agency, citing an initial report from local authorities.
“It is a very serious fire,” the agency said, adding that rescuers had managed to rescue alive 70 people trapped in the burning building. At least three children are among the deceased victims. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered an investigation.
Deadly fire
It could be one of the deadliest fires that Vietnam has seen in recent years, regularly entangled in controversies around non-compliance with basic safety rules.
The fire broke out in the parking lot, just before midnight (7 p.m. in Switzerland), during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, witnesses said.
“We were sleeping when suddenly we felt very hot because the power was gone,” described a survivor being treated in a hospital.
We stayed inside the room for five hours.
Nguyen Thi Minh Hong, fire survivor
“I was so scared,” explains this 34-year-old woman who lives on the 7th floor. “I only tried to calm my two children by holding a wet towel to their faces,” she adds.
Videos broadcast by local media showed the scale of the fire which spread across a large part of the ten-story building, located in a narrow alley in a residential area of the capital.
The configuration of the alley, typical of the bustling capital of eight million inhabitants, made access to the site difficult for rescuers.
Around 150 people live in the building without an escape route and whose balconies are protected by grills which cut them off from the outside.
Smoke “everywhere”
Neighbors saw residents jump from the building, risking their health, and others escape through roofs.
“My family’s roof allowed 14 or 15 people to escape,” said Dao To Nga, a neighbor of the damaged building.
Vietnam has experienced several deadly fires in recent years which have fueled suspicions around the application of basic safety rules, sometimes ignored in Southeast Asia.
A year ago, a fire in a karaoke bar near Ho Chi Minh City killed 32 people. The Prime Minister then ordered the inspection of risk sites.
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