The local administration reports that ten people, including five children, were murdered in an apartment building fire near Lyon, France.
A seven-story apartment building in Vaulx-en-Velin caught fire, according to a statement issued by the authorities.
Four people are in serious condition, and ten others, including two firefighters, had minor injuries.
The fire has been extinguished after 170 firefighters fought it.
The Borne region’s minister delegate for cities and housing, Olivier Klein, tweeted on Friday morning, “The preliminary count gives you the chills.”
Gerard Darmanin, minister of the interior, stated that the cause of the fire is yet unknown and complimented the work of the firefighters who saved individuals in “very difficult situations.”
He stated that all of the deceased children were between three and fifteen years old.
Mr. Darmanin stated that an investigation into the cause of the fire would begin later on Friday. He added that he chatted with French President Emmanuel Macron all night.
A neighborhood neighbor told the daily Le Progrès de Lyon: “I awoke due to the screaming… We desired to aid, but the smoke was too dense. I saw a dead woman… It is a dramatic situation.”
Another neighbor commented: “I instructed my child not to go school; he is stunned. It traumatized him to hear such sounds, screams of terror. My legs are shaking.”
The apartment building where the fire broke out is part of a housing development in the suburbs of Lyon. The fire appears to have begun on the bottom floor and then spread upstairs.
The neighborhood has a reputation for urban ruin and criminality but is currently undergoing a multimillion-euro restoration.
