Three killed in Hanoi ‘tube house’ fire

The fire broke out around 5:20 a.m. in the fifth floor of the house situated in an alley off Tho Quan Street and spread to other floors.

The couple owning the house was not home at the time, but their two children aged 11 and 13 and a relative aged 19 were.

Eight fire trucks were dispatched to the scene, but the alley was too narrow for them to enter and firefighters had to put out the blaze from its mouth.

The house has only one façade, and it has a glass window and iron frame.

Rescuers had to break the window to get into the house.

They put out the fire by 7:12 a.m., but unfortunately could not save the occupants.

It is not known yet what caused the fire.

Usually with only one exit and inadequate safety standards, Vietnam’s so-called “tube houses” face severe fire threats and have suffered from more than a few fatal ones.