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Ten killed, including five children, in apartment blaze near French city of Lyon

Friday, 16 December 2022 10:21 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 16 December 2022 10:21 AM ]

The local authority for the Lyon and Rhone region said the cause of the fire was not known at this stage. (File Photo)

Ten people, including five children, were killed after a fire broke out at a residential building near the French city of Lyon on Friday morning, marking one of the deadliest fire incidents in the country in recent years.

The blaze broke out at around 3 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) in Vaulx-en-Velinat a seven-story block of apartments, according to local officials. The cause of the incident is now known yet. Around 170 firefighters were at the site.

In a statement, local authorities said a "sizeable fire" broke out in the building, which was later extinguished with the help of 170 firefighters.

Four people are reportedly in critical condition and 10 others have sustained minor injuries, including two firefighters.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called the incident “a shock,” adding that the children were between 3 and 15 years old and that the casualty toll was "definitive."

Olivier Klein, the minister delegate of cities and housing for the Borne region, tweeted on Friday morning: "The provisional tally sends chills down your spine."

An eyewitness was quoted as saying by the BFM television channel that he was woken up by “children screaming.” “When we opened the windows, we saw smoke coming out,” he recalled.

"I told my kid not to go to school, he's shocked. It traumatized him to hear screams like that, screams of horror. My legs are shaking," another resident said.

4 critical after London stampede

In a separate incident in London, four people were critically injured and four others were hospitalized following a stampede at a concert, police said.

Police and other emergency services were called to the O2 Academy in Brixton at 21:35 pm (2135 GMT) on Thursday after reports "that a large number of people were attempting to force entry to the venue".

"Detectives are investigating the circumstances which led to four people sustaining critical injuries," the Metropolitan police said.

“This is an extremely upsetting incident that has left four people critically ill in the hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their families,” Commander Ade Adelekan from Met Police was quoted as saying.

"A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night."

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