International Desk : At least 56 people have been killed and dozens were injured in a huge fire in an apartment block in Vietnam's capital Hanoi, BBC reports.

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The fire, which broke out during the night, has been extinguished but rescue operations are continuing.

Authorities in fast-growing Hanoi say many newly-built apartments do not meet fire safety regulations.

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Witnesses said it started in the parking floor of the building, which was packed with motorbikes.

One family said they had to escape by smashing the metal railings blocking their window, and putting a ladder across to a neighbouring building.

Hoa, a woman who lives nearby, told "I heard a lot of shouts for help. We could not help them much," Hoa, a woman who lives nearby, told the AFP news agency.

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Fifteen fire engines were sent to assist but could not get close to the burning apartment block because the alley it was in was too narrow.

The blaze highlights the challenges of managing fire safety in the region's fast-growing and poorly regulated cities.

There have been many similar tragedies in other South East Asian countries like Thailand, where regulations were found afterwards either to be inadequate, or in many cases simply not enforced.

Sun News/MR

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