This follows the death of a 4-year-old boy in an apartment fire, which occurred in an impoverished housing estate in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) on January 30.
A judicial investigation has been opened, in particular for involuntary homicide and “subjection of vulnerable people to unworthy housing conditions”, the Marseille prosecutor's office announced this Monday.
The judicial investigation, opened this Friday, also targets charges of unintentional injury and involuntary damage by dangerous means, the prosecution detailed in a press release.
The fire, which occurred in the heart of the Parc Kalliste city, on the night of January 29 to 30, started from an apartment located on the second floor of a building which has seven floors. It caused the death of a four-year-old child, by asphyxiation, in an apartment on the 5th floor where nine people, four adults and five children, were also affected and hospitalized.
Auxiliary heating in question
Heard in police custody, the occupant of the apartment where the fire started explained to investigators that "the fire would have started at his auxiliary heating before spreading to the furniture in the apartment", adding that he had “tried to turn it off, in vain, while alerting the residents of the building,” said the prosecution.
Also read: Death of a child in a fire in Marseille: “I’m not really surprised”
The preliminary investigation, opened for homicide and involuntary injuries, “also highlighted the precarious living conditions of the occupants of this apartment, which was the subject of illegal occupation,” according to the press release.
In total, 21 people were rescued for burns or poisoning.
“The state of health of all the victims is improving,” the Marseille prosecutor’s office reported this Monday.
With 40,000 homes considered slums, or 10% of the housing stock, and as many people waiting for social housing, the city of Marseille suffers from a serious problem of unsanitary housing.
The Parc Kalliste housing estate, very degraded and largely squatted, is one of the poorest in Marseille.