At least 10 people have died after a fire broke out at a mini apartment building in Vietnam's Hanoi city.

According to hospital authorities, the deceased included four children.

The fire started at 11 p.m., at a mini apartment building in a small alley off Khuong Ha Street in Thanh Xuan District, when people in the building were asleep or about to go to sleep, reports VN Express.

As many as 150 people reportedly lived in the 10-storey building.

The house is reportedly divided into rooms for rent.

Seventy people were rescued from the building and rushed to various hospitals in the city.

Nguyen Dinh Phuc, director of Dong Da General Hospital, said the patients were in panic.

The exact cause of the blaze is still not known.