(RepublicanView.org) – An apartment fire in Hanoi, Vietnam, left 14 people dead and six others injured last week. The fire broke out overnight in a small building in a narrow alley in the Vietnamese capital. Firefighters could not reach the blaze due to the small alleyway entry, which measured just two meters wide. They managed to bring the fire under control after bringing hoses down the narrow pathway, but not in time to save all the residents’ lives.
Witnesses said they heard loud explosions that shook surrounding buildings. Nguyen Thanh Trung described how his own building trembled before he left to see what was happening. He and others tried to help residents escape—there were 24 people in the apartment block at the time.
The fire reportedly originated in a small courtyard to the front of the building, where a garage containing electric bikes was situated. Trung said these are regularly charged overnight. However, the Ministry of Public Security said the cause could not be immediately confirmed.
Survivors were transported to local hospitals for treatment, and reports indicate that seven members of the landlord’s family were living there, as well as 17 tenants.
A similar tragedy in Hanoi reportedly occurred last year when more than 50 people perished in a fire unreachable due to narrow alleyways. The nine-story building was home to 150 people, 56 of whom died when the blaze broke out in the early hours. Firefighters were hampered by narrow entryways and fought the flames with hoses and ladders.
Several people were admitted to the hospital having sustained injuries jumping from windows and doors, and police arrested the building’s owner, Nghiem Quang Minh, for violating fire safety regulations. The country’s Prime Minister visited the scene and called for regulation improvements.
There are millions of people in Hanoi, many residing in small buildings on slender streets. Prime Minister Nghiem Quang Minh said such roadways should undergo regular review. In 2022, a fire killed 32 people in a nine-story apartment structure.
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