Three people died this Sunday evening in a fire in an apartment in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. The fire broke out on rue de Charonne (11th arrondissement) in a home, on the 7th floor of a building of eight.
What happened ?
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, it was around 8:15 p.m. this Sunday, April 7, that a fire broke out on the 7th floor of a building at 146 rue de Charonne. According to several witnesses, the fire was the result of an explosion heard in the evening.
Others speak of a fire which broke out in a studio. On site, the deputy for the 6th district of Paris, Sophia Chikirou, claims to have been able to speak with a commissioner and indicates that the explosion heard was due to “a gas bottle”.
In total, 66 firefighters and 17 engines were involved. Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control in the evening without risk of spreading.
The thesis of the explosion still to be defined
A neighbor of the burning home, interviewed by our colleagues from BFM TV, claims to have heard a “big boom” just before calls for fire. According to The Parisian, two other sounds of explosion were heard several hours before the incident, in the afternoon. The daily even quotes a police source who confirms that a first explosion was recorded at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The origin of these explosions is still to be determined since the building is not supplied with gas. But the trail of a gas bottle will undoubtedly be explored. Like that of an electronic device which could have been the cause of the detonations.
What is the human toll?
In total, the fire caused three deaths. According to the prosecution, two of the victims were unable to escape the flames. The third, a man in his forties, died while trying to escape through a window. While trying to go to the floor below, he fell, according to witnesses on site.
According to Sophia Chikirou, a fourth person was also seriously injured in the fire, and is in “life-threatening emergency”.
An open investigation
Contacted by 20 Minutes, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on Sunday evening into charges of “destruction by fire or dangerous means” and “involuntary homicide”. Investigators from the second judicial police district (DPJ) are in charge of the investigations.
Many messages of support
In addition to the deputy for the constituency, Sophia Chikirou, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo also provided her support to the victims via the social network Instagram: “It is with great emotion that I address the families and loved ones of the victims all my condolences and would like to assure them of the full support of the municipality which stands by their side. »
Anne Hidalgo posted a message of support on Instagram. – Instagram screenshot
His first deputy, Emmanuel Grégoire, also sent his “most sincere thoughts to the victims of the terrible fire that occurred last night on rue de Charonne as well as to their loved ones” via the X network.