A fire at an apartment block in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi has killed 56 people, among them children, and injured 37, the police said on Wednesday.

The fire broke out during the night in a nine-storey building, home to about 150 residents, according to the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA), which said the blaze was contained by 2am (1900 GMT).

Television images showed firefighters equipped with hoses and ladders at the scene by night, while a column of thick, dark smoke billowed from the building by day.

Several of the victims were admitted to local hospitals with multiple injuries after having jumped from their windows to escape the fire, state media said, citing Vu Hoang Phuong of Hanoi Medical University Hospital.

The police have detained the owner of the building, Nghiem Quang Minh, accusing him of violating fire-prevention regulations, the ministry of public security said in a statement, adding that an investigation into the case is underway.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the site of the blaze on Wednesday and called for the completion of anti-fire regulations at small-sized apartment buildings and in densely populated residential areas, according to a government statement.

The police have detained the owner of the building as part of their investigation.

State-owned national television channel VTV said four children were among those killed.

The fire was believed to have started late on Tuesday and rescuers struggled to reach the building on a narrow lane in south Hanoi.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much of the building had burned.

Reuters, AP/PTI