The New York Times, citing official media, said that a fire that started at a nine-story apartment building in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Tuesday night resulted in more than 50 fatalities. The cause of the fire was undiscovered until Wednesday morning.
The fire broke out around 11:30 pm (local time) when many of the residents were at home, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
Firefighters struggled to reach the apartment complex, home to 45 households, as it lies in a narrow alley, the agency said. Fire trucks had to be parked 300 to 400 metres away from the building.
The casualty figure was confirmed by officials, Vietnam’s Dan Tri newspaper reported on Wednesday morning. Many of the 54 people who had been hospitalised following the fire had died, the newspaper said.
The Associated Press reported that the fire had been put out and that rescue efforts were underway.
According to Reuters and VNA, the police have started an investigation to determine what started the fire.
