Dramatic footage showed a man escaping from a fire at an apartment block on the outskirts of the Belgian city of Antwerp, climbing from a balcony to a nearby window.
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-story 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.
An Associated Press photographer at the scene said that the smoke died down by early afternoon, but that many first responders were still there.
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