Flames claim high-rise; residents evacuated

MILAN >> Italian firefighters on Sunday battled a highrise blaze in Milan that spread rapidly through a 20-story residential building and poured black smoke into the air. Residents were hurriedly evacuated.

Mayor Giuseppe Sala said there were no reports of injuries or deaths, but that firefighters were kicking down doors, apartment by apartment, to make sure there were no victims.

The nearly 200-foot tall building, part of a recent development project, was designed to look like the keel of a ship and included an aluminum sail on its roof, which burned and fell to the street in pieces.

A huge plume of black smoke rose from the reinforced concrete building named the Torre dei Moro and was visibile for kilometers (miles). Flames continued to burn inside nearly 3 hours after a dozen fire trucks and ambulances responded to the alarm.

Unidentified residents told said that the panels on the facade were supposed to have been fire-resistant.