At least 56 killed in Vietnam building fire with no escape route: ‘impossible for victims to get out’
- The fire started just before midnight on Tuesday in the parking floor of the 10-storey building
- The complex’s small balconies were surrounded by iron bars, and having only a single exit – and no emergency ladder on the outside
A fire at a block of flats in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi has killed 56 people, among them children, and injured 37, police said on Wednesday.
The fire broke out during the night in a nine-storey building, home to about 150 residents, according to the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA), which said the blaze was contained by 2am.
Television images showed firefighters equipped with hosepipes and ladders at the scene by night, while a column of thick, dark smoke billowed from the building by day.
Several of the victims were admitted to local hospitals with multiple injuries after having jumped from their windows to escape the fire, state media said, citing Vu Hoang Phuong of Hanoi Medical University Hospital.
Police have detained the owner of the building, Nghiem Quang Minh, accusing him of violating fire-prevention regulations, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement, adding that an investigation into the case is under way.
At least three children were among the dead, Viettimes, an online state newspaper, reported.
The apartment is so closed with no escape route, impossible for the victims to get out