The fire started around 11 p.m. Tuesday at a mini apartment building on Khuong Ha Street. The building has 10 stories and is divided into around 40 rooms of 20 square meters each for rent, with around 150 people living in it.
So far, authorities have managed to get 70 people out, with 54 taken to hospital.
On the first floor, which functions as a parking lot, dozens of motorbikes have been burnt down. The flames have also caused severe damage to surrounding structures.
The fire was put under control at around 1 a.m. Wednesday, but search and rescue efforts continued until 9 a.m. due to the complexity of the scene.
The second to tenth floors of the building were used for apartments. Each floor has five apartments, each spanning 20-40 m2, with one living room, one bedroom and a corridor.
A burned window.
The fire broke out as the apartment building residents were in bed. When they saw the smoke and the flames, they called each other to come to the rooftop and screamed for help, while some escaped by jumping onto nearby roofs. A family on the 4th floor used a rope ladder to escape and helped seven others.
A rope-ladder used by a family on the fourth floor to escape and help seven others.
The fire broke out as the apartment building residents were in bed. When they saw the smoke and the flames, they called each other to come to the rooftop and screamed for help, while some escaped by jumping onto nearby roofs.
The smokes stained the clothes outside a room.
Victims were taken to numerous hospitals, including the Bach Mai, Dong Da and Ha Dong hospitals. The hospitals have reported at least 10 people dead.
Behind the apartment building, the loggias and windows were soldered to the walls. There is only one emergency exit in the front, while the other three sides were adjacent to other buildings.
The elevator on the first floor has been heavily damaged by the flames, with only bare bricks remaining on the wall.
The living room of an apartment on the 2nd floor is burnt and stained black. The heat could still be felt radiating into the surrounding environment, despite the flames having been put out in the morning.
The walls of the building only have small openings. When the fire happened, the flames seeped through these openings, leaving behind black soot.
