BRUSSELS: At least five people were killed and many more injured on Wednesday when a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment block in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, police said.

A fire service spokeswoman said it was not yet known what caused the blaze, which broke out mid-morning in the building of around 80 apartments on the bank of the river Scheldt.

“At least five people have lost their lives in the fire and many others have been seriously injured,” police spokeswoman Kim Bastiaens told Flemish public broadcaster VRT. She said rescue teams were still working to locate other possible victims.

Firefighters and medics deployed in large numbers to the scene, where television footage showed thick black smoke billowing from the upper floors of the building.

Resident Geert Dewulf, who lives on the 10th floor, told a reporter at the scene he was dialled into a work meeting when he heard fire detectors go off and his wife saw smoke in the corridor.

“We went out onto the balcony and maybe eight or 10 minutes later firefighters came with a ladder to evacuate us,” said the 67-year-old consultant. “It was just masses of black smoke,” said Dewulf, who said he had been promised hotel accommodation but “had no idea” when he would be able to return home.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever praised the emergency services for their work in difficult conditions. “My thoughts are with the victims and the residents evacuated after this terrible fire,” De Wever wrote on X.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2026