A body of a victim is brought out of the fire. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Fourteen people have been killed and three others injured after a fire tore through a property in Hà Nội’s Cầu Giấy District early Friday morning.

The blaze started around 12.30am in a five-storey house on Trung Kính Street. 

Three people are currently being treated at Giao Thông Vận Tải Hospital. One, an elderly resident of the house, is in a serious condition. The other two are stable.

According to Cầu Giấy District police, the fire spread quickly and the whole property was engulfed in thick, black smoke.

Four people trapped in the building managed to escape by smashing windows and climbing to the ground floor.

Firefighters rushed to the scene but because of the location of the property, about 200m from Trung Kính Street, trucks were enable to get close and hoses had to be pulled into the alley to extinguish the blaze.

The alley where the house was located. — VNA/VNS Photo

The house is about 100sq.m, including the yard, and has 12 rooms for rent. The couple who own the building live in two rooms on the first floor.

It is understand there are seven member of that one family living there and 17 other people registered to rent rooms.

The identities and ages of the deceased have not yet been released. 

The fire destroyed motorbikes, bicycles and electric bicycles stored on the ground floor. A steel frame and corrugated iron roof covering the yard collapsed.

The house is burnt down. VNA/VNS Photo

By 4am, the fire was completed extinguished but Trung Kính Street remained closed for several hours.

Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Long and Senior Lieutenant General Trần Quốc Tỏ, deputy ministers of public security, visited the scene.

Chairman of the Hà Nội People's Committee, Trần Sỹ Thanh, said that units had been directed to investigate the cause of the fire, assess damage and implement any necessary measures. — VNS