حريق في مبنى سكني في بلجيكا يودي بحياة 5 أشخاص على الأقل وإصابة عدة آخرين بجروح خطيرة

At least five people have been killed and many injured in a fire in an apartment block in the Belgian city of Antwerp, police said on Wednesday.

The blaze broke out mid-morning on the eighth floor of the building, where more than 200 people live, in the city’s Linkeroever neighbourhood, sending vast plumes of smoke into the air, Antwerp police said in a statement.

An evacuation of the 10-storey building was under way.

“Right now, unfortunately, at least 5 people have died in the fire. There are also a significant number of seriously injured people, as well as a number of lightly injured,” Antwerp police spokesperson Kim Bastiaens told Belgian private broadcaster VTM.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, but Bastiaens said that it had started on the ground floor, and that forensic experts were scouring the site.

Local residents were warned to keep their windows and doors closed and, if needed, to turn off any ventilators due to the amount of smoke in the air.

Firefighters battled the blaze in difficult conditions due to its size and intensity, police said.