Antwerp fire: At least six killed and many injured after blaze breaks out in high-rise unit block

At least six people have been killed and many more injured in a fire ravaging a 10-storey apartment block in the Belgian city of Antwerp where firefighter rescue efforts were hampered by smoke and poor visibility.

The blaze was caused by a technical failure on the ground floor of the building, where more than 200 people live in 80 apartments, in the city’s Linkeroever neighborhood, sending vast plumes of smoke into the air, Antwerp police said in a statement.

The top floors of the 10-storey block appeared worst hit. The building was evacuated and nearby 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. Those evacuated were taken to a local shelter.

Firefighters battled the blaze in difficult conditions due to its size and intensity, police said. Several teams of first responders and police were dispatched to the site, including a specialized drone unit.

Television images from the scene showed one man on an upper floor enveloped in smoke and hanging over a balcony in an effort to get fresh air, before making his way to a nearby window.

A medical emergency plan was activated to keep the victims from saturating nearby hospitals.

Firefighters were battling the blaze in difficult conditions due to its size and intensity, police said. Several teams of first responders and police are at the site, including a specialised drone unit.

One apartment resident Geert Dewulf said he had been trapped inside his flat by the thick smoke.

“We barricaded ourselves into our flat and waited on the balcony,” he told Belgian public television.

“The fire brigade came to rescue us from the balcony 10 minutes or so later with their ladder.”

The BBC reported that former mayor of Antwerp Bob Cools was among the residents who had been evacuated from the building, citing comments from Mr Cools’ son-in-law.

“We tried our utmost to save the cat but unfortunately in the end we were unable to,” he said.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene said that the smoke died down by early afternoon, but that many first responders were still there.

In a post on social media, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, a former mayor of Antwerp, said his “thoughts are with the victims and the evacuated residents of the terrible fire on Linkeroever.”

“My deep appreciation goes out to the emergency services who are striving to help the many affected people as quickly and safely as possible, and who are working hard to bring the fire under control,” he said.

The Linkoeroever neighbourhood in the eastern part of Antwerp is a large residential area dotted by high-rise apartment buildings and bordering a major park where outdoor summer music concerts are held.

with AAP