Fire has ripped through a 20-storey residential building in Milan, leaving rescue workers scrambling to make sure no one had been caught in the flames and thick smoke, writes The Guardian.

The blaze on Sunday started on the upper floors of the tower on the southern outskirts of the capital of the Lombardy region.

The building houses about 70 families, who were being contacted in an effort to make sure no one was missing.

“The firemen are going from apartment to apartment, knocking down doors to make sure no one remains inside”, - Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. “But we are optimistic because people had time to get out”.

The newspaper said about 20 residents suffered slight smoke inhalation. Dozens of ambulances and fire engines were at the scene.