BRUSSELS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- A serious fire broke out on Wednesday morning in a ten-storey apartment building in Antwerp, Belgium. Antwerp police confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that at least six people had died in the fire, according to Belgian media.

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire in an apartment building in Antwerp, Belgium, July 1, 2026. Several people died and others were seriously injured or affected by smoke after a major fire broke out on Wednesday morning in an apartment building in the Belgian port city of Antwerp. Firefighters were still searching for possible victims inside the building. (JONAS ROOSENS/BELGA PHOTO/Handout via Xinhua)

Everyone in the affected building has now been evacuated. A total of 60 residents of an adjacent building have also been evacuated and are being sheltered at the residential care center across the street.

The blaze has not yet been fully extinguished, and the fire service said firefighting remained complex and difficult, though the fire could no longer spread. Firefighters are still searching inside the building for possible victims.

The police confirmed that the fire started on the ground floor. It remains unclear how it started.