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HANOI: Eight people went on trial on Monday over a fire that tore through a Hanoi apartment block in 2023, killing 56 people in Vietnam’s deadliest blaze in two decades.

The owner of the nine-storey block, down a narrow alley in a densely populated area of the capital, is accused of violating fire prevention regulations after he illegally changed the building’s design to cram in more rooms, state media said.

Seven local officials are also on trial at the Hanoi court, accused of “lack of responsibility causing serious consequences” after failing to properly report the owner’s wrongdoing.

Many of those who survived the fire, as well as those who lost loved ones, attended the trial Monday, state-controlled VNExpress news site said.

The fire broke out before midnight on September 12, 2023, with neighbours and residents reporting hearing screams as people struggled to escape through barred windows.

The building had only a single exit and no emergency ladder on the outside. One of the four sides had no windows at all, and another had only tiny ventilation slots.

In the wake of the blaze, the government ordered a nationwide check of fire prevention systems in mini apartment blocks and other densely populated rental accommodation.

Vietnam has a population of 100 million people, a third of whom live in tightly-packed urban areas.

To meet the demands for accommodation, Vietnam in 2014 legalised small apartment blocks – known locally as “mini apartments” – which are mostly owned and built by private individuals, and sometimes later resold or rented to low-income and migrant workers.

According to the indictment cited by VNExpress, 45-year-old Nghiem Quang Minh, the owner of the block that went up in flames, illegally changed the design of the building to make it three floors higher and with 12 extra rooms.

While under construction, the illegal changes were reported and Minh was fined, but the officials involved did not report the wrongdoings to their superiors, VNExpress added.

By 2016, all 45 apartments in the building were reportedly sold. Four years later, fire prevention regulations were flagged once again, but officials did not ask Minh to make appropriate changes.

A short circuit within the wiring system of the block started the 2023 fire, which also injured 44 people, the indictment said.

Residents have requested compensation of 76.4 billion dong (almost $3 million). The verdict is due on Wednesday.

The fire was the deadliest in Vietnam since October 2002, when a blaze killed 60 people at the International Trade Centre in Ho Chi Minh City.

But the country has experienced several serious fires in recent years, many at entertainment venues, including karaoke bars.