A fire has ripped through a 20-storey apartment building, prompting a major emergency response and a rapid search for residents.
Fire ripped through a 20-storey residential building in Milan, northern Italy, on Sunday, leaving rescue workers scrambling to make sure no one had been caught in the spectacular flames and thick smoke.
The blaze started on the upper floors of the tower on the southern outskirts of the capital of the Lombardy region.
“The flames then spread to the lower levels,” causing thick smoke, the fire services said on a Twitter account.
Residents of the building which houses around 70 families were being contacted but no one had so far been identified as missing, they added.
“The firemen are going from apartment to apartment, knocking down doors to make sure no one remains inside,” Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“But we are optimistic because people had time to get out,” he added.
The daily said about 20 residents suffered slight smoke inhalation.
According to Milano Today the flames spread up the building “like a torch” because of the cladding used on the property.
One resident told the Milano Cronaca: “We were told that the panels that covered the building were fireproof, but instead they burned quickly like butter.”
The Central Emergency Department for Milan confirmed the flames were now under control after the fire broke out at around 5.30pm.
The fire broke out on the top floors of the building and then spread to the lower levels.
More than 50 firefighters have made their way to the upper floors of the building, with 15 fire engines used to tackle the blaze.
The road was closed to traffic to allow the emergency services to work and has also been covered with debris, including the burning cladding of the tower.
Beppe Sala, Mayor of Milan, told Milano Today: “The firefighters entered house to house, breaking down the doors to see if anyone was left inside.
“Luckily we can breathe a sigh of relief because all the tenants have answered the call.
“Some tenants, although they could get off very quickly, stopped knocking on the doors of the other apartments to make sure they were empty and this, probably, was decisive.
“I saw firefighters with burned hands , they are doing a commendable job, as always.”
– with AFP, The Sun
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