HANOI: Fifty-six people died in a fire at an apartment block in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, police said Wednesday, with witnesses reporting screams from inside and a small boy thrown from the building.

Vietnam’s deadliest fire in 20 years started just before midnight on Tuesday (1700 GMT) in the parking floor of the 10-storey building, an area packed with motorbikes, witnesses said.

“56 people have been killed and 37 people injured,” Hanoi police department said in a statement. At least three children were among the dead, state media reported. The owner of the apartment block has been arrested on suspicion of violating fire prevention regulations, Hanoi police said.—AFP