Hanoi house fire leaves 5 dead

The Hanoi Police Command and Information Center received a report of the fire at a house measuring about 60 square meters per floor on Alley 264/2 Thuy Khue Street in Tay Ho Ward at around 1:50 am.

Local residents alerted others after discovering the fire and used available equipment to try to put it out, but were unable to contain the blaze.

The command center dispatched six specialized fire trucks and nearly 40 firefighters and police officers to the scene.

They coordinated with local authorities, Tay Ho Ward police and residents to fight the fire and search for people trapped inside.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Dai Thang arrived at the scene early Wednesday morning and directed city police to work with relevant departments and local authorities to visit and support the victims’ families, address the consequences of the fire, and investigate its cause.

When firefighters reached the scene, four people had escaped, while others remained trapped inside.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus to enter the house and search for victims while deploying multiple teams to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to upper floors and neighboring houses.

The fire was brought under control at around 2:30 am and completely extinguished by 2:45 am.

“During the search and rescue operation, police found five victims who had died and handed them over to medical personnel,” a leader of the Tay Ho Ward Party Committee told Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Hospital 354 under the Ministry of National Defense told Tuoi Tre on Wednesday morning that it had received four victims of the fire in the early hours of the day.

Two patients were being treated in the emergency intensive care unit, while the other two were in the emergency department. Doctors were providing intensive treatment.