another body discovered in the rubble of the fire in Saint-Nazaire

The balance sheet is getting heavier. A body was discovered Wednesday in the rubble of an apartment building in Saint-Nazaire devastated the day before by a fire, bringing the death toll to two dead and one seriously injured, indicates the prefecture of Loire-Atlantique.

The body of an occupant was discovered on the first floor of the building during the search and clearance operations, according to the same source. The site’s investigations were suspended Tuesday for security reasons, firefighters said.

One death and one serious injury Tuesday

Thirty-five firefighters, “including specialized teams” including “rescue in perilous environment”, as well as eighteen devices were at the scene of the disaster on Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, one person was dead and another hospitalized in serious condition after jumping from the burning building.

The owner of the building was taken into custody on Tuesday. An investigation for “manslaughter” and “unintentional injuries” was entrusted to the judicial police. The mayor of Saint-Nazaire, David Samzun, warned Tuesday that the death toll could increase, citing an “overoccupied” building.

Residents had alerted

Struck by a municipal decree in May after a first outbreak of fire, the owner of the building had carried out work to bring it up to standard, according to the mayor. But, at the beginning of July, around thirty residents had sent a letter to the public prosecutor’s office in which they were worried about the “potential drama that a fire could cause in this building” where “misery and delinquency”, notably linked to drugs, “coexist “.

The firefighters had reported Tuesday of another victim “slightly injured”, not requiring hospitalization.