About 70 people have been rescued, according to Hanoi authorities, with nearly 40 injured

Vietnamese police have announced that 56 people died from a fire in a nine-floor apartment building in the capital, Hanoi.

The blaze began shortly after 11pm on Tuesday when many of the roughly 150 people living in the building were asleep or getting ready for bed.

Firefighters extinguished the fire in about an hour, while footage from the scene showed intense flames shooting through windows on every floor.