Children among the dead after fire in Vietnam’s capital

A fire in a nine-storey apartment building in Vietnam’s capital killed at least 10 people, including four children, and injured more than 50 others, state media reported.

The fire has been extinguished and rescue operations were continuing, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

Authorities have not confirmed the exact number of deaths.

Initial reports had suggested a higher death toll as the injured and dead were taken to different hospitals across the city.

State-owned national television channel VTV said four children were among those killed.

The fire was believed to have started late Tuesday and rescuers struggled to reach the building on a narrow lane in south Hanoi.

It was not immediately clear how much of the building had burned.

It was home to 150 residents, and 54 of the 70 people rescued from the fire were taken to hospital for their injuries, state media said.

Residents were being treated for smoke inhalation and injuries sustained as they tried to escape the building.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire, which started around midnight in the parking area of the building that had no emergency exit.

A deadly fire at a karaoke parlour in southern Vietnam’s Binh Duong province killed 32 people last year.