Milan tower block goes up in flames

A picture taken on August 29, 2021 shows a 20 storey residential building ravaged by a fire in Milan. – The building located in the southern outskirts of the Lombard capital caught fire in the upper floors around 5.30 pm. “The flames then spread to the lower levels,” causing thick smoke, the firefighters said on their Twitter account. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)

MILAN, Italy (AFP) — Fire ripped through a 20-storey residential building in Milan, northern Italy, on Sunday, leaving rescue workers scrambling to make sure no one had been caught in the spectacular flames and thick smoke.

The blaze started on the upper floors of the tower on the southern outskirts of the capital of the Lombardy region.

“The flames then spread to the lower levels,” causing thick smoke, the fire services said on a Twitter account.

Residents of the building which houses around 70 families were being contacted but no one had so far been identified as missing, they added.

“The firemen are going from apartment to apartment, knocking down doors to make sure no one remains inside,” Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“But we are optimistic because people had time to get out,” he added.

The daily said about 20 residents suffered slight smoke inhalation.

Dozens of ambulances and fire engines were at the scene.

© Agence France-Presse