Mass evacuation as fire breaks out at 51-floor building in Puerto Madero

More than 100 people were evacuated as a fire broke out in a 51-storey apartment building in Puerto Madero on Tuesday.

No lives were lost during the accident at the La Torre Renoir 2 tower, emergency services personnel in the capital said. 

About 40 people required treatment at the scene for smoke inhalation, and three were hospitalised, said the director of the SAME (Sistema de Atención Médica de Emergencias, SAME) emergency services Alberto Crescenti.

Dozens of ambulances were deployed at the scene, he said.

The blaze reportedly broke out around noon on the 11th floor of one of the highest residential buildings in Buenos Aires City and was quickly brought under control.

Crescenti, however, said the fire had “started on the 10th floor and spread to the 11th and 12th.”

Firefighter Christian Benítez told the AFP news agency all the residents were out of danger.

"I heard the fire alarm and came downstairs as quickly as I could," said 30-year-old Ornella Gril outside the building, where she and other residents had gathered amid a huddle of firefighters, rescuers, journalists and neighbors.

"It's not the first" fire in the building, she added.

Veronica Mozien, another resident, told AFP this was the third fire in the complex in six months.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Former River Plate and Estudiantes de La Plata fotballer Mariano Pavone, who lives in the building, told the Noticias Argentinas news agency: "I saw smoke and went down with my son and my dog. Luckily nothing happened to my flat. I'm anxious for my neighbours. Luckily it was just a scare.”

– TIMES/AFP/NA