“The number of victims is alarmingly high”: Ten dead after a major fire in a residential building in France
Created: 2022-12-16, 4:54 p.m
By: Patrick Huljina
A large fire broke out in a suburb of Lyon on Friday night.
Ten people died, including five children.
Vaulx-en-Velin – On Friday night (December 16) a major fire broke out in a seven-story apartment building in Vaulx-en-Velin, a suburb of Lyon.
Ten people were killed, the prefecture said.
Five children between the ages of three and 15 are among the fatalities of the fire in France.
France: Ten dead after a major fire in a residential building near Lyon
The cause of the fire in the block of flats was initially unclear.
The fire was reported by the fire department around 3 a.m. on Friday night on the ground floor of the house.
The flames then spread to three floors.
Around 170 firefighters and 65 fire engines were deployed.
The fire could be extinguished in the morning.
In addition to the ten fatalities, the emergency services complained of four serious injuries.
Ten people were slightly injured, including two firefighters.
A local resident named Sarem told BFMTV that he was woken up by the fire.
“Around 2 a.m., 2.25 a.m. we heard screams, children screaming.
When we opened the windows, we saw smoke coming up and went downstairs," he said.
"Some people were stuck on their balconies and the fire brigade had problems because of the trees," Assed Belal, a young man from the neighborhood, told AFP.
Ten people died in a house fire near Lyon, including five children.
© Laurent Cipriani/dpa
Big fire in the suburb of Lyon: "The number of victims is alarmingly high"
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin met with the victims' relatives on Friday morning.
"It's a shock, the number of victims is alarmingly high," said the politician.
Darmanin thanked the firefighters who risked saving some people's lives by climbing the facade.
"Without their swift and heroic efforts, the toll would have been even more dramatic," he said.
Darmanin was in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron about the fire and wanted to get an idea of the situation with Housing Minister Olivier Klein on site.
"Today we have to stand by the side of the victims," Klein told broadcaster LCI.
The government is working with the local mayor to accommodate affected people.
"We will mourn the dead and accompany the survivors," promised the mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin, Hélène Geoffroy.
(ph/dpa/afp)
