Ten people were killed in a fire in an apartment building near the French city of Lyon on Friday evening. Five children are among the dead, the prefecture said.
Four injured are in critical condition, ten others – including two firefighters – were slightly injured, according to emergency services.
According to the local government of the Lyon/Rhône region, the fire was first reported at 3:12 a.m. and at 3:25 a.m., about 170 firefighters and 65 fire engines were on the scene.
As a spokesman for the fire department told BFMTV, the fire started on the ground floor of the apartment building in the middle of a settlement and spread to the third floor. It was a complicated operation. The smoke made it difficult to evacuate residents. The fire has now been extinguished.
‘We heard children screaming’
A neighbor reported being awakened by the fire. “We heard screaming, children screaming. When we opened the windows, we saw smoke rising and going down,” he said. “Neighbors came with a ladder, but we were able to get some people who lived on the first floor garden side out, towards the side- Entrance.”
“Of course it is a shock, the balance is very difficult,” said French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. The children who died were between the ages of three and fifteen. The cause of the fire in the seven-storey building in the suburb of Vaulx-en-Velin is not yet known, authorities said.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
