- ‘Hooded people’ reported to have been seen nearby before the blaze broke out
Seven members of the same family have been killed in a flat fire in Nice, according to reports, with police investigating the inferno as a possible arson attack.
Three of those killed in the fire are reported to have been children aged five, seven and 10. A teenager was also among the dead.
Rescuers were alerted at around 2.30 am to the blaze in the working-class neighbourhood of Les Moulins in the southern French city.
They were confronted by a ‘violent apartment fire’ on the seventh floor of the building. They carried out three aerial ladder rescues and evacuated dozens.
According to the mayor of Nice, ‘hooded people could have been seen nearby, in the area’ before the fire, at between 1.30 and 3am, with security forces now mobilised to ‘ensure the safety of residents and prevent further acts after this tragedy.’
A firefighter looks out of a window after extinguishing a fire that broke out overnight at a residential building in a working-class neighbourhood of Moulins
Onlookers comfort one another as they look up at the wreckage left by the deadly blaze
Forensic police officers and French firefighters inspect a building after extinguishing a fire that broke out overnight
The blaze is now extinguished but firefighters remain at the scene. In total, 25 fire engines and 72 firefighters were involved in tackling the fire.
In spite of the substantial resources deployed, ‘unfortunately seven people died during this fire’, firefighters said.
Nice prosecutor Damien Martinelli said investigators were looking into a ‘criminal’ cause for the fire.
‘In light of the initial evidence, I have opened an investigation into acts of arson leading to death,’ he told journalists at the scene.
Rescuers said that one person was taken to hospital as an ‘absolute emergency’ and two others were hospitalised as ‘relative emergencies’.
A local resident who arrived at the scene as the blaze tore through the block last night the Nice Matin website that he realised when he saw it that there was ‘no hope for those inside.’
Nice prosecutor Damien Martinelli said investigators were looking into a ‘criminal’ cause for the fire
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said the human toll of the disaster was extremely high. As well as the seven victims, another 30 people have suffered smoke inhalation.
‘I’ve asked the interior minister to deploy security forces to ensure residents’ safety and avoid new incidents after this tragedy that’s being investigated as potential arson,’ he said.
France’s Interior Minister described it as a ‘terrible tragedy’. He is expected at the site today alongside Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.