Hanoi
House fire in Vietnam: death toll rises to almost 60
Rescue workers rescue a fire victim from the accident house in Hanoi
© Vietnam News Agency / AFP
Late in the evening, a residential building in Hanoi suddenly caught fire. Most of the residents have already slept. Some jump from roofs or balconies. But the record is terrible.
A fire disaster in a high-rise residential building in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi has left at least 56 people dead. This was reported by the local police. Almost 40 other people are being treated in hospitals, some with serious injuries. It is feared that the number of deaths could continue to rise. The cause of fire was unclear for the moment.
The owner of the building was arrested, police said. He is accused of violating fire safety regulations. There was no escape for dozens of people because the house only had a single emergency exit.
When the fire broke out, people were sleeping
According to media reports, around 150 people lived in 45 mini-apartments in the building in the Thanh Xuan district. When the fire broke out late Tuesday evening, most people were already asleep. According to initial investigations, the fire started on the first floor, where there was a parking lot for scooters.
According to authorities, the flames quickly spread to the upper floors. Some panicked residents jumped from the roof onto neighboring buildings to save themselves from the flames. Others said they rappelled down from lower floors. Doctors said many suffered smoke inhalation and others suffered multiple fractures.
A third-floor resident said he threw wet blankets onto a slightly lower corrugated iron roof and then jumped off the balcony with his 27-month-old daughter in his arms and his wife. He broke his arm and his wife broke her shoulder – but all three are in relatively good shape, the newspaper “Tuoi Tre” quoted him as saying.
His other two children, aged eight and nine, had previously escaped to the roof of the house. The son survived, but nothing is known about the fate of his daughter, the man said.
Around 15 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters were deployed to bring the fire under control. Photos shared online showed completely charred walls and the remains of numerous burnt scooters. The local police also said that so far they have only managed to identify 39 of the bodies.
Frequent fires in Vietnam with many victims
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who was there to see the disaster, promised help to the affected families. He said authorities must learn from this tragedy. “A building like this must have exits,” he said. It is impossible to build so many floors and more than 40 apartments without enough emergency exits.
Fires occur frequently in Vietnam with many victims. The reason is a lack of fire protection regulations. Last year, more than 20 people died in a fire at a karaoke bar in the south of the country. In 2018, more than a dozen people died in a fire in a high-rise building in Ho Chi Minh City.