Ten people, including five children, killed in apartment fire near Lyon, French authorities say

Read More

Ten people, including five children, have reportedly been killed after a fire broke out on Friday morning at a residential building in Vaulx-en-Velin, near the French city of Lyon.

The local authority for the Lyon/Rhone region said the fire was first reported to emergency services at 3.12am and by 3.25am around 170 firefighters and 65 fire trucks were at the site.

Emergency services reported that the fire broke out in a seven-storey apartment block in the Mas du Taureau neighbourhood.

Another four people are in a critical condition while 10 others, including two firefighters, have been injured.

Authorities said the cause of the fire is not known at this stage.

The French housing minister, Olivier Klein, said he had spoken to Vaulx-en-Velin mayor H?l?ne Geoffroy and would visit the city. “I am going there this morning to be alongside the residents, local officials and the emergency services,” he tweeted.

One resident told French broadcaster BMF TV: “I cry tears when I think of these victims.”

Another neighbour, who said he lives just 100 metres from the building where the fire broke out, was awoken by the fire. “We heard screams, children screaming. When we opened the windows, we saw smoke coming out and [so we] immediately went downstairs,” he said.

The man, identified only as Sarem, said neighbours arrived at the scene with a ladder and helped to evacuate people who lived on the first floor.

This is a developing story, we will update as more information becomes available.