Colonel To Xuan Thieu, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Fire Prevention, said, the department sent eight fire teams to the site as soon as the incident occurred, at around 5:00 p.m.
The buildings, located at No. 11 Cua Bac Street, was still under construction and the on-site fire prevention and control system has not yet put into operation. As a result, the whole burden of putting out the fire was shouldered by the teams.
The fire broke out in one of three basements of the towers and quickly spread to the 30th floor. The fire teams found it very hard to control the flames, particularly because the doors in all the staircases were locked. The doors had to be destroyed to save the people inside, according to Thieu.
He noted that fire prevention systems should be put into buildings, even when they are still under construction.
By 21:15 p.m on December 15, the rescue teams had saved 24 victims, who were rushed to Saint Paul Hospital. Among those, 19 are being treated in the burn ward, with the rest in more serious situations, being treated in emergency or critical care. There have been no reported fatalities.
Although most of the victims are improving, doctors continue to observe their conditions, as many have inhaled toxic fumes that could cause further complications.
Fire broke out from the basement
