Dozens dead after apartment block fire in Vietnam when a child was thrown from the building to escape the flames

A fire in an apartment block in Vietnam killed dozens of people and a small boy was thrown from the burning building.

Witnesses reported hearing screams from inside the 10-story block as people trapped inside desperately tried to escape.

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Emergency services rescued around 70 people and 54 were taken to hospital in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

Three children were among the dozens who died in the terrible fire.

According to local reports, the fire broke out shortly before midnight on Tuesday on the parking level, where there were many motorcycles.

Hoa, a woman who lives nearby, said: “I heard a lot of cries for help. We couldn’t help them much.”

“The apartment is so locked that there is no escape route for the victims.”

The building, which housed around 150 people, only had a single exit.

With no emergency exit on the outside of the block and iron bars surrounding the balconies, desperate residents were stuck inside.

Another witness, Huong, described how a young boy was thrown from a high floor in a final attempt to save his life.

“I was just about to sleep when I smelled something. I went outside and saw the fire,” she said.

“The smoke was everywhere. A little boy was thrown from a high floor. I don’t know if he survived or not, although people used a mattress to catch him.”

The rescue workers managed to extinguish the fire by Wednesday morning.

But rescuers still had difficulty gaining access to the destroyed complex, located in a narrow alley in a residential area in southwest Hanoi.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang visited the scene on Wednesday morning, state media said.

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