DOZENS of people have been killed after a huge fire at an apartment block in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, state media said today.

The fire started just before midnight yesterday (1700 GMT) on the parking floor of the 10-storey building, said witnesses, an area packed with residents’ motorbikes.

“Authorities rescued about 70 people, and rushed to hospital 54 people, including dozens of dead,” said the official Vietnam News Agency.

“This is a very serious fire,” said the statement.

The blaze was out this morning, although workers continued searching for survivors.

Rescuers struggled to access the building, in a highly residential area of southwest Hanoi, located down a narrow alley.

“We could not help them much,” a woman named Hoa who lives near the block told AFP at the site.

“The apartment is so closed with no escape route, it is impossible for the victims to get out.”

The incident came a year after a blaze in a three-storey karaoke bar in commercial centre Ho Chi Minh City killed 32 people.

Seventeen people were injured in that fire, with the owner arrested on charges related to breaching fire prevention regulations.

Vietnam has experienced several deadly fires in recent years, frequently at entertainment venues like popular karaoke bars. – AFP, September 13, 2023.