Video: Mini apartments deep in alleys in Hanoi.
Mini apartment buildings are very popular in Hanoi. They are built close together on every street: Trung Kinh, Yen Hoa, Quan Hoa (Cau Giay district), Hoang Hoa Tham, Doi Can (Ba Dinh district), Khuong Trung, Khuong Dinh, Trieu Khuc (Thanh Xuan district).
It is worth mentioning that most mini apartments are built in narrow, deep, winding alleys, densely interwoven with high-rise buildings. There are alleys that can only accommodate 2 motorbikes passing each other, and in some places, motorbikes cannot even turn around. Or there are apartments located at the end of the alley, up to a kilometer from the main road.
This is pushing the fire hazard onto the tenants and buyers. Because if a fire breaks out, hundreds of people will have difficulty escaping these confined spaces.
Mini apartments usually have a small area of 30 - 50m2, so the apartment density is very high. Many investors when building give the initial reason as housing and then change the purpose of use to rent or sell apartments. They make the most of the land fund so they rarely build emergency exits, fire prevention facilities are just a formality. The danger of fire and explosion can therefore happen at any time. Hundreds of people have to live in anxiety because they do not know when the danger will strike.
Mini apartments are springing up close together in alleys and lanes in Hanoi.
According to a survey by VTC News reporters on Doi Can Street (Ba Dinh District), most of the small alleys around this area have at least 1-2 mini apartments, with deep entrances. The alleys in this area are very narrow and lack light because of the high-rise buildings built close together. The mini apartments are located very deep in the alleys, at least 500 meters from the main road.
Tiny entrance to a mini apartment on Doi Can street.
This apartment building is newly built, there are still a few apartments left.
The entrance door is just wide enough for a motorbike to squeeze through. " If a fire breaks out, it will be difficult for everyone in the house to rush out in panic, let alone outsiders to help put out the fire ," a resident admitted.
Apartment at number 156, lane 173, Hoang Hoa Tham street, located about 700 meters from the main road.
This is a small alley, not suitable for cars. There is only one way in and out for the hundreds of residents living here. Not to mention how the fire department will access the building if a fire breaks out, this only exit will be overloaded when the incident occurs.
A bewildered tenant said: " After the tragic fire in Khuong Dinh, I am really worried. If an accident happens now, I don't know how to rescue people through this terrain, when the entrance is too far and narrow, I am very worried. I will have to find another place to live that is more airy, spacious and safe ."
At the end of a small alley on Trung Kinh Street, three mini-apartments are located next to each other. Hundreds of people currently live in these "dead-end" apartments.
Ms. H., who rents here, is worried: " The more people live in a cramped space, the higher the risk of insecurity. Just one person's unconscious actions can cause unpredictable consequences for the whole community. Therefore, I am afraid of bad risks every day. Knowing that, but because the rent is cheap and finding a new place is not easy, I have to accept renting here ."
The alley is deep and small, containing many mini apartments.
Deep in alley 66 Trieu Khuc street, there are countless mini apartments lined up next to each other, interspersed with high-rise buildings. From the beginning of the alley, the road is still wide, the deeper you go, the nooks and crannies are just enough for walkways, everywhere there are mini apartments for rent.
Dozens of such buildings share an alley just wide enough for a small truck to pass through.
The buildings are dense but the alleys are small, all the apartments are currently full.
A closed apartment, many dangers if fire occurs.
Mini apartment buildings continue to spring up everywhere, posing an unpredictable danger of tragic fires that can happen at any time.
Hao Nhien
Source
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)