a mother and her three children die in the fire of a building

A mother and her three children died Thursday and nine people were injured in the fire of an 18-storey public building in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint -Denis. In this popular suburb of Paris, the fire left in the afternoon of the 17th floor of the tower and has spread to the top floor, as well as those below. A thick black smoke was visible from afar.

"We deplore four victims, a mother and her three children," said the prefect Pierre André Durand. "The fire was violent. Firefighters finished work at 10:11 pm, "he said.

Firefighters found the dead bodies of the victims in the early evening in a 17th floor apartment, while they "finalized the extinction of the disaster," which also injured six residents and three firefighters, said a spokesman for the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP). The woman found dead was pregnant, according to several witnesses interviewed by AFP

All residents of this tower in the La Frette neighborhood were evacuated, some of whom were wheelchair users. According to a witness, residents had gathered in the park at the foot of the building to follow the progress of the firefighters, arrived around 17 hours.

The fire, whose cause has not yet been determined, required the the intervention of some thirty vehicles and a hundred firefighters, whose work was complicated by the hot temperatures that prevailed in Ile-de-France Thursday.

While residents in shock felt that the latter had been slow to intervene, Mickaël Sibilleau, the chief of staff of the prefect, said that the fire department had "10 minutes to arrive": "The alert was given at 17:06 and they arrived at 17:16." [19659003] The inhabitants of the building were relocated for the night in a gymnasium made available by the city "as a security measure," said the town hall of Aubervilliers to AFP. The tower belongs to the public housing office (OPH) of the city. The inhabitants "will be able to return to their home as soon as Friday once the places secure," said the mayor, sending his condolences to the family of victims.

Several hours after the extinction of the fire, the perimeter security erected in the afternoon was still in place and fire engines were parked in front of the building. A burning smell still floated in the air and the facade of the upper floors was blackened.