Ten people, including five minors, die in fire in France

Ten people died, including five minors, and 14 were injured in a building fire at dawn this Friday in the city of Vaulx-en-Velin, in eastern Francethe authorities reported.

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“Ten people died, including five children between the ages of 3 and 15, (…) in a fire whose causes are unknown,” said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who expressed his dismay.

Of the 14 injured there are “four of absolute urgency”according to the authorities.

The fire, which is already “extinguished”, was declared shortly after 03:00 in the morning (02:00 GMT) in a seven-story building located on the outskirts of the city of Lyonspecified the local prefecture in a statement.

The emergency teams followed one another at the scene of the accident between ambulances, trucks and sirens, an AFP photographer confirmed. The area is protected by a wide security perimeter.

The fire started on the ground floor and spread to the upper levels, so the inhabitants were trapped in their homes while the smoke invaded the common areasaccording to firefighters.

“It was terrible,” Mohamed, a cousin of a fourth-floor inhabitant who managed to flee down the stairs with his two children, told AFP.

Neighbors heard screams and tried to save livesaccording to testimonies broadcast by the television channel BFMTV.

The accident area was protected by a wide security perimeter. (OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP /)

– “Sadness” –

Authorities are now trying to determine the cause of the fire.according to a prefectural spokesman, who said nearly 170 firefighters were deployed.

The intervention took place “under difficult conditions”, according to the Interior Minister.

Two firefighters were slightly injured., depending on the prefecture. The intervention also had an important gendarmerie device, confirmed the AFP at the scene.

Expressions of solidarity with the victims and their families began to appear on social networks, on the last day of school in France before the Christmas and New Year holidays.

“Sadness at the tragic fire that affected Vaulx-en-Velin. I express my support to the victims and their relatives”, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne tweeted.

Tristesse face au tragique incendie qui a touché Vaulx-en-Velin.
J’adresse mon soutien aux victims et à leurs proches. J’ai dit à @HeleneGeoffroy my solidarity

Recognition pour les pompiers du @SDMIS69 et services de l’Etat.@GDarmanin et @OlivierKlein93 vont sur place.

— Élisabeth BORNE (@Elisabeth_Borne) December 16, 2022

The fire broke out in the Mas de Taureau neighborhood, an area undergoing urban transformation after long embodying the image of Lyon’s troubled suburbs.

The Lyon metropolis launched in the early 2000s a program of 100 million euros (106.5 million dollars) to reflect on a future ecological neighborhoodthe development of local shops and public transport.

The delegate minister for the City and Housing, Olivier Klein, must go to the area in the morning to discuss the situation with the authorities, according to the prefecture.

Source: Elcomercio