'Whole family gone': Hanoi building fire death toll reaches 56, victims recount horror

livemint.com:

Hanoi witnessed a massive building fire which has killed over 50 people. The fire that broke out in a nine-story apartment building in Vietnam's capital killed at least 56 people, including at least four children, while 37 more are being treated, state media reported citing the police. Of the 56 people confirmed dead, the police have identified 39 victims, the state-owned Viet Nam News said Wednesday evening.

The fatal fire that started on Tuesday took the lives of four children among others, State-owned national television channel VTV reported. One man, who did not give his name, said his daughter had died and feared his wife had also perished. "I lost my daughter, who was staying with her mother," he said to news media outlet AFP.

Unsure where his wife was, he told AFP, "I guess she did not make it either." The nine storey building in Hanoi, Vietnam, that got burned down is located on a narrow lane, making it difficult for rescuers to carry out rescue operations. It was home to 150 residents, and 54 of the 70 people rescued from the fire were hospitalized for their injuries, according to initial state media reports. Residents were being treated for smoke inhalation and injuries sustained as they tried to escape the building.

The police have detained the owner of the building as part of their investigation. Family members kept waiting at morgues a day later to collect the bodies of their loved ones, they knew had died in the deadly fire. One man, who gave his name as Dung, said his two young cousins, a man and a woman, were among the dead.

They had come from their home in nearby coastal Thai Binh province to study. "They were at university here. Our family bought them this small apartment.