At least 56 dead in apartment fire in Hanoi

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HANOI, Vietnam – A fire at a nine-story apartment building in the Vietnamese capital killed at least 56 people, including at least four children, while 37 others are being treated, state media reported, citing police.

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Of the 56 confirmed dead, police have identified 39 victims, the state news agency Vietnam News said on Wednesday evening.

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Initial reports of the death toll were unclear as the injured and dead were taken to various hospitals across the city. The fire started around midnight and was extinguished in the morning, and rescue work continued throughout the day.

As part of their investigation, police have arrested the owner of the building.

State television broadcaster VTV said four children were among those killed.

The fire was believed to have broken out late on Tuesday and rescuers struggled to reach the building in a narrow alley in southern Hanoi. It was not immediately clear how much of the building had burned.

It housed 150 residents and 54 of the 70 people rescued from the fire were hospitalized for their injuries, state media said. Residents were treated for smoke inhalation and injuries sustained while attempting to escape the building.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire, which broke out around midnight in the building’s parking lot, which had no emergency exit.

A deadly fire at a karaoke parlor in southern Vietnam’s Binh Duong province killed 32 people last year.