'Flaming balconies': 12 people rescued from apartment fire in Almaty

Tengrinews.kz - A fire broke out in an apartment in the Akbolak microdistrict of Almaty, with footage showing flames engulfing the balconies of a multi-storey building.

Eyewitness videos captured the blaze starting on the fourth-floor balcony before spreading to the fifth floor.

According to the Almaty Emergency Situations Department (DES), firefighters were dispatched with elevated response status at 2:45 p.m. local time. The fire was fully extinguished by 3:43 p.m.

“Twelve people, including one child, were rescued by firefighters using a rescue hood through the stairwell. Another 20 people self-evacuated,” the DES reported.

Earlier, a fire broke out at a market in the Saryarka district in Astana.