Building fire kills 14 people in Vietnam capital
World
The ministry said it is investigating the cause of the fire, whose victims are yet to be identified
HANOI (Reuters) – At least 14 people were killed and three injured in a fire that broke out at a densely populated residential area in Hanoi early on Friday, police said.
Firefighters managed to rescue seven people from the fire at a five-story building in a small alley in Vietnam's capital city, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.
The ministry said it is investigating the cause of the fire, whose victims are yet to be identified.
The building, which covers an area of 100 square meters, is located in a narrow alley approximately two meters wide and about 200 meters from Trung Kinh street, making it inaccessible to fire trucks, Xinhua reported quoting media.
The rental multistory-building has two rooms in each floor with the first floor used for electric bicycle sales and repairs, Vietnam News Agency reported.
An electric bicycle short circuit was initially cited as the main cause of the flames, which occurred at 0:30 am, said the agency.
A total of 1,555 fires and explosions happened in Vietnam in the first four months of this year, killing 28 people and injuring 26 others.
In September last year, a fire at an apartment block in Hanoi killed at least 56 people, among them children, and injured 37.
