At least 10 people have died and dozens have been injured in a fire at a Hanoi apartment block, Vietnam’s state media reported Wednesday.
The blaze started just before midnight the previous day on the ground floor of the nine-storey building, according to the VietnamNews website.
It said 70 people were rescued and 54 taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation and various injuries by dawn on Wednesday.
Some reports put the death toll much higher than 10, with the Nguoi Lao Dong website putting it at “more than 30.”
One family used a rope ladder to escape from a fourth-floor apartment while others on higher floors jumped onto neighboring roofs to escape the flames, VNExpress reported.
Rescue workers struggled to get fire trucks and ambulances down the narrow streets of Thanh Xuan district.
The flames caused serious damage to surrounding buildings.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang visited the scene Wednesday and called for an investigation, along with tougher regulation at small apartment buildings, according to a government statement.
Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan.
