At least six reported dead in Antwerp apartment-block fire; search continues

At least six people were reported dead in a major fire in an apartment building on the August Vermeylenlaan, in the Linkeroever (Left Bank) district of Antwerp, on the morning of Wednesday 1 July 2026. The toll was confirmed to VTM Nieuws, according to Het Laatste Nieuws; authorities cautioned that the number could change as searches continued. International agencies including Reuters initially reported that “several” people had been killed and several injured.

The alarm was raised at around 9:53 a.m. (0753 GMT). Firefighters were still working to bring the blaze under control at the time of the first reports and were searching the building for further casualties. Early accounts of where the fire began differed — one placed its origin on the ground floor, while agency reporting pointed to the eighth floor of the ten-storey block — and the cause was not yet known.

The building is home to roughly 200 residents and was evacuated. Emergency services activated a medical intervention plan and requested a provincial scale-up, bringing in fire crews from neighbouring zones. Affected residents were taken to the Hof Ter Schelde care centre, and the public was asked to avoid the area and to keep doors and windows closed, switching off ventilation where smoke was entering.

“Smoke was spreading quickly and easily between floors and rooms, making it more difficult to search for people and evacuate them,” said Marie De Clercq, a spokesperson for the Antwerp Fire Zone, in remarks reported by international agencies.

This is a developing story. Belgium Pulse is publishing only what named sources have confirmed; the casualty figure and the cause remain preliminary and may change as the search and investigation continue.