The fire in Bạch Nao Village, in the district’s Thanh Văn Commune, last Saturday afternoon.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Police on Tuesday have launched a criminal investigation after a fire killed three people from the same family in Bạch Nao Village, Hà Nội, on September 10.

At 4:36 pm, police were informed about a fire at a bedding warehouse in the village. It dispatched 60 firefighters to the scene.

By 5:26 pm, the fire was under control. However, the fire destroyed 300 sq.m of the warehouse and the next three-storey tube house, which had many flammable blankets inside.

Firefighters tackling the blaze last Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo

Three fire victims were a 29-year-old woman and her two children. The victims were taken to the National Burn Hospital. However, by 6:30 pm all three were declared dead to severe asphyxiation.

Police said the woman was the owner of the bedding warehouse. She hired two welders to install an iron roof to expand the warehouse on the day of the fire.

When the fire occurred, the deceased and the two welders were the only people in the vicinity. During the work, a spark began the fire.

Phan Duy, a police officer who bravely rushed into the fire to try and rescue the victims, also suffered from asphyxiation. He is being treated at hospital. — VNS