Shipper abandons delivery, saves 10 people trapped in mini apartment fire

At noon on September 13, VietNamNet reporters met Nguyen Dang Van (30 years old, in Que Vo, Bac Ninh), who left his delivery job and rushed to the burning mini apartment building to save his relatives and other victims.

With a trembling voice, Mr. Van recounted the terrifying moment when the fire engulfed the mini apartment building , causing many deaths in the fire on Khuong Ha street, Khuong Dinh ward (Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi).

Mr. Van said that while he was on his way to deliver goods, he received a text message from his brother, saying that his relative's house (on the 4th floor of a mini apartment building) was on fire.

Upon receiving the news, Mr. Van drove straight to the scene, rushed into the house that was on fire and smoke to save his family and some more victims.

“When I arrived, I saw a fierce fire, many people were panicking and running away. I was worried about my family and heard someone calling for help inside, so I jumped in,” said Mr. Van.

Mr. Van said that before going up, he picked up a hammer. After climbing to the 4th floor, he used the hammer to break the door and saved his cousin, then saved some people on the same floor as his cousin.

“I had a mask ready, I added some water to wet it and put it on and ran up. There was a lot of smoke. I was scared myself, but when I heard people calling for help, I still ran up,” said Mr. Van.

Shipper 30's face was dirty after rescuing victims in the fire. Photo by Nguyen Van.

Mr. Van said that the total number of people he brought out safely was about 10. Although he was able to save some people, Mr. Van's nephew has not been able to contact him yet.

When rushing into the fire, Mr. Van was also injured and burned on his hand.

Initial information, at around 2:00 p.m. today, Hanoi Police said that more than 100 people trapped in the fire were rescued .

According to Thanh Xuan District People's Committee, the fire broke out at 11:50 p.m. on September 12, at house number 37, alley 29/70, Khuong Ha street, covering an area of over 200 square meters with about 150 residents.

Immediately after receiving the news, the Hanoi City Police Command Center mobilized the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Team of Thanh Xuan District Police, Fire Prevention University... with more than 20 fire trucks to the scene to organize search and rescue and fire fighting.

By 5:00 a.m. on September 13, preliminary statistics showed that authorities had successfully rescued over 70 people and taken 54 people to the emergency room, including one who died.

This is an especially serious fire. Thanh Xuan District authorities are closely coordinating with the City Police and other functional forces to urgently handle the scene, support the victims and have plans to overcome the consequences, while investigating the cause of the fire.

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