8 Jailed Over Hanoi Building Fire That Killed 56

A Vietnamese court jailed eight people on March 14 over a fire that tore through a Hanoi apartment block in 2023, killing 56 in the country's deadliest blaze in two decades.

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HANOI -

The building had only a single exit and no emergency ladder on the outside, and neighbours and residents reported hearing screams as people struggled to escape the flames through barred windows.

The owner of the nine-storey block deserved "the most serious punishment" for the blaze in September 2023, the court in Hanoi said, convicting him of violating fire prevention regulations and jailing him for 12 years.

However, victims' relatives said the sentence should have been longer.

Families were prevented from talking to the media outside the courthouse.

"I am not happy with the verdict," said Ms Le Van, whose brother, sister-in-law and their child were killed in the blaze.

"They should be punished even more for what they have done to us," she told AFP by phone.