Hanoi, Vietnam — An overnight fire at an apartment building in a narrow alley in Vietnam’s capital killed 14 people and injured six others, state media said on Friday.
The apartment building in central Hanoi could only be accessed through an alley just 2 meters (6.5 ft) wide, preventing fire trucks from reaching it, and firefighters eventually contained the fire. using hoses, state media said.
The fire started around 12:30 a.m. and was accompanied by several explosions, the Vietnam News Agency reported. It took an hour to turn off.
Neighbor Nguyen Thanh Trung said he was asleep when he heard the explosions and ran outside to see what was happening. “I could feel the shock in my house,” he said, adding that he and others got a ladder to break the window and help people escape.
State media reported that the building had 24 residents at the time, seven from the owner’s family and 17 tenants. The injured are stable and receiving treatment at Hanoi Transport Hospital.
The fire started in the small courtyard in front of the building that was used as a garage for the sale and repair of electric bicycles, state media reported.
Trung said the family used to charge the bicycle batteries at night.
Police later cordoned off the alley. Charred remains of motorcycles and burned plants and scattered belongings were left in the apartment.
Authorities said they would give $1,962 to the families of the dead and $1,177 to the injured as compensation.
This fire is reminiscent of that of September last year in Hanoi, where more than 50 people died in similar circumstances. Rescue operations were also hampered by the city’s narrow streets.
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AP writer Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi contributed to this report.
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