SINGAPORE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two people died on Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out in a residential block in eastern Singapore, authorities said.
Approximately 30 residents from the block on Hougang Street were evacuated as a precautionary measure, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) reported on Facebook.
The SCDF said it was alerted to the fire at around 12:40 p.m. and that firefighters faced difficulties in gaining entry to the affected unit due to excessive items inside.
The blaze occurred in a third-floor unit, where firefighters discovered two individuals dead in a bedroom.
As of around 4:30 p.m., the firefighting operation was still ongoing, according to the SCDF's latest update. ■