Fire in mini apartment building in Khuong Ha, about 40 casualties

CLIP of the fire scene:

According to initial information, at around 11:30 p.m. on September 12 , a large fire broke out in a mini apartment building deep in alley 29/70 Khuong Ha (Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi ).

At the scene, some witnesses said that this mini apartment building was about 9 stories high and many people were trapped inside.

A mini apartment building located deep in alley 29/70 Khuong Ha (Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi) caught fire. Photo: PC

At the scene, because the apartment building is located deep in the alley, the fire truck had to park on Khuong Ha Street. Firefighters and rescuers had to deploy a hose through the alley to put out the fire. Photo: Dinh Hieu

The injured person was taken outside. Photo: Dinh Hieu

Approaching the scene, VietNamNet reporters recorded that the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Force of Hanoi City Police, Fire Prevention and Fighting University... mobilized nearly 20 specialized vehicles to participate in fire fighting. At 0:10 on September 13 , the forces continued to make efforts to put out the fire and rescue victims.

During the fire fighting and rescue process, medical forces, ambulances and stretchers were urgently dispatched to the scene. Photo: Dinh Hieu

At the scene, the forces rescued a number of injured people and brought them out.

A witness said the mini apartment building was built in a tube style, divided into 45 apartments. The house only has one frontage, the other 3 sides are adjacent to residential houses.

During the fire, a family on the third floor of the mini apartment building used a rope ladder to escape. The whole family escaped the fire.

Having just escaped, the male resident living on the third floor of the apartment building recounted: “At around 11:30 p.m., I had just fallen asleep when I heard people shouting about a fire. I jumped up and saw smoke coming from downstairs, and there was an explosion, which I suspected was an electrical fire. I called my wife, prepared the escape rope and brought it to the balcony to find a way to escape.

At that time, I calmed down and knew to find the balcony because there was no other way out, so I told my family to put on masks and climbed down from the 3rd floor together through the balcony.

This resident shared that his family has 3 members, including a 4-year-old son. When his family climbed down to the ground, they were helped by local people. Later, he heard the security guard say that the fire was coming from the lower floor, the security guard used a fire extinguisher but it was ineffective.

This man and his family escaped the fire using a rope ladder, and were shocked when they told VietNamNet reporters about the moment the fire broke out, causing panic among residents in the mini apartment building. Photo: Dinh Hieu

Firefighting vehicles were brought to the scene. Photo: Dinh Hieu

At 0:32 , about 1 hour after the fire, at the scene, some residents in the mini apartment building still had not escaped, some ran to the top floor, many people panicked and looked for a way out.

Firefighting vehicles and rescue forces were continuously mobilized to the scene. Photo: Dinh Hieu

At the scene, some iron door frames of the house were cut by the fire department to find a way into the apartment building and rescue the victims. Photo: Dinh Hieu

At 0:42 a.m. , a witness said the fire started in the parking lot. The initial cause was suspected to be an electrical short circuit while charging an electric motorbike.

A female resident who just escaped said that this apartment building was built in 2015. When the fire broke out, she pressed the fire alarm but it did not work. "I usually hear the fire alarm go off, but I don't understand why it didn't work today," she said.

0:45 , inside the apartment building is still on fire, medical staff continue to push stretchers into the scene...

At 1:05 a.m. , the Fire Police continued to bring exhaust fans to the scene to reduce smoke and expand visibility. Generators were also brought to the scene.

At the scene, at 1:35 a.m. , Colonel Duong Duc Hai - Deputy Director of Hanoi City Police directly directed the rescue, relief and fire fighting work.

At 1:53 a.m. , authorities brought another victim out safely.

The victim rescued safely at 1:53 was a child in room 502 of the apartment building. Photo: Dinh Hieu

Then, at 2:15 a.m. , the Fire Police force rescued another middle-aged woman to safety.

All rescued victims were given initial support by medical staff, then placed on stretchers and taken away from the scene.

The woman was taken out by the authorities. Photo: Dinh Hieu

At 2:50 a.m. , the authorities continued to bring the victims out safely. Inside the apartment building, the police continued to search for the victims.

Colonel Pham Trung Hieu - Head of Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department (Hanoi City Police) directed the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police force to deploy 2 foam fire hose lines to continue handling the fire.

At 3:08 a.m. , a female victim was taken out by the Fire Police. At this point, approximately 6 victims were taken out of the apartment building and taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

At 4:30 a.m. , authorities and local residents continued to bring the three victims (two children and one adult) outside. At this time, it was raining heavily. A medical staff member was holding a child and shouting loudly: "Hold on, child!... The child is still breathing, everyone hold on!"

However, according to records, at about 4:42 a.m. , authorities began removing the victims who were confirmed dead from the scene of the fire.

At more than 6:00 a.m. the same day , authorities continued to remove the victim's body from the scene of the fire.

After that, the authorities took the dead person out.

(...continue to update)

Witness recounts the moment he crossed the "sea of fire" to escape the fire at a mini apartment building in Hanoi. As soon as he discovered the fire on the first floor of the mini apartment building in alley 29/70 Khuong Ha (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi), seeing black smoke rising into the apartment, Mr. Nguyen Cong Huy evacuated his whole family across the "sea of fire" to escape using a rope ladder.

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