Deadliest fire in over a decade kills ten people in Paris - at least 8 firefighters injured
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A fire in a nine-story Paris apartment building killed 10 people and injured 30 people on Monday. Residents fled to the roof and had to climb across balconies to escape.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner spoke to reporters at the scene on Tuesday morning:
"I want to salute the huge mobilization of the Paris firefighters," he said. "More than 250 people arrived immediately and, throughout the night, saved over 50 people in truly exceptional conditions."
It was the deadliest fire in Paris since the April 2005 hotel fire near the capital's famed Opera that killed 24 people.
Over 30 people were being treated for "relatively" light injuries, Castaner said. Among the injured were at least eight firefighters.
According to the Associated Press, a 40-year-old woman who lived in the building, believed to have psychiatric problems, was arrested nearby and held on suspicion of having started the fire intentionally.
French police opened a criminal investigation for arson resulting in death.
A young firefighter said he ran upstairs to try and evacuate the building.
"I climbed across several balconies, with nothing beneath, and then was backed into a corner. There were people climbing hand-over-hand to get to where I was and escape the flames," said a resident on the 8th floor.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter: "France wakes up with emotion after the fire in rue Erlanger in Paris last night."
The fire comes a month after a deadly explosion and blaze linked to a gas leak in a Paris bakery.
In September 2015, there was a fire in a northern Parisian neighborhood that left eight dead.
All photos are screen shots from video captured by Paris Fire Brigade during the intervention.
