HANOI - At least 14 people were killed and three injured in a fire that broke out at a densely populated residential area in Hanoi early on Friday, police said.

Firefighters managed to rescue seven people from the fire at a five-story building in a small alley in Vietnam's capital city, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

The ministry said it is investigating the cause of the fire, whose victims are yet to be identified.

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In September last year, a fire at an apartment block in Hanoi killed at least 56 people, among them children, and injured 37.