A woman and three children, “presumably from the same family”, were found dead on Thursday evening in a flat on the 17th floor of a tower block where a fire had broken out that afternoon in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis), the Paris Fire Brigade told our colleagues at LCI.
The fire started on the 17th floor and spread to the floors above, as well as to those below. Firefighters recovered the bodies of the victims in the early evening, whilst they were “putting the final touches to extinguishing the blaze”, which also injured six residents and three firefighters, a a spokesperson for the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP) told AFP.
All the residents of this block of flats in the La Frette neighbourhood were evacuated, some of whom were in wheelchairs, according to the same source. According to a witness, residents had gathered in the park at the foot of the building to watch the firefighters’ progress; they had arrived at around 5.00 pm.
The fire, the cause of which has not yet been determined, required the deployment of around 30 fire engines and around 100 firefighters, whose work was hampered by the sweltering temperatures in the Île-de-France region on Thursday.
Paris region: three firefighters injured in a #fire fatal https://t.co/fPkAClxXYe
— Secours Info (@SecoursInfo) 26 July 2018