LYON (France), Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five children, including a three-year-old, were among 10 people killed when a fire broke out in a seven-storey apartment building in a suburb of Lyon, the French government said.
Fourteen people were injured, including four who required emergency treatment, after the fire erupted in Vaulx-en-Velin in the northern outskirts of Lyon, according to local authorities.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters in Paris before heading to the scene that 10 people were killed, including five children aged between three and 15.
“We do not know the cause of the fire and the investigation will be able to find out,” he said. “It’s shocking and the toll is extremely heavy.”
Darmanin added he had already discussed what had happened with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The fire has been put out, local authorities said, adding that the blaze erupted in the early hours of the morning.
Two firefighters suffered light injuries while battling the blaze, which reportedly broke out on the ground floor of the building.
Nearly 170 firefighters had been deployed at the building. — NNN-AGENCIES