Major fire engulfs homes in downtown Hanoi

Firefighters late Monday battled a major blaze in central Hanoi that engulfed several homes near a children's hospital and sent panicked residents running for safety. There were no deaths or injuries reported hours after the fire started in a crowded part of the Vietnamese capital, but a huge plume of smoke could be seen from several kilometers away. Patients were wheeled out of a nearby children's hospital - which was not on fire - as much of the area's electricity was shut off, according to AFP reporters at the scene. "I have never seen such a big fire, it must have been more than 100 meters (330 feet) high I think," resident Dinh Thi Chung told AFP.