According to the local administration, a fire in an apartment building outside of Lyon, France, has claimed the lives of ten individuals, five of them children.
In a statement issued by authorities, it was stated that a “sizeable fire” had started in a seven-story apartment building in Vaulx-en-Velin.
Ten people, including two firefighters, have minor injuries, while four people are in severe condition. After 170 firefighters battled the fire, it has been put out.
The provisional figure “sends chills down your spine,” wrote Olivier Klein, the minister delegate of cities and housing for the Borne region, in a tweet on Friday morning.
Gerard Darmanin, the interior minister, stated that the cause of the fire is still a mystery and commended the firefighters’ efforts in saving lives under “very tough circumstances.” He noted that the kids who passed away ranged in age from three to fifteen.
Later on Friday, according to Mr. Darmanin, an investigation into what started the fire would be opened. He added that he chatted with Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, all through the night.
Le Progres de Lyon newspaper quoted a local as saying: “I was awakened by the screaming… We wanted to assist those in need, but the smoke was too thick. I observed a dead woman.
I told my child not to go to school, and he was astonished, a neighbor stated. He was traumatized by it.
The block of flats where the fire broke out is part of a housing project in the Lyon suburbs. The flames appear to have started on the ground floor before spreading upwards.
The neighbourhood has had a poor reputation for problems of urban decay and crime, but is undergoing a multi-million euro renovation.
