News / France

Paris apartment blaze kills eight, including two children

Wednesday, 02 September 2015 7:18 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 September 2015 7:18 AM ]

Fire raging at an apartment block in Paris on September 2, 2015

Eight people, including two children, have died in a blaze that engulfed an apartment block in the north of the French capital, Paris.

The fire broke out in the eighteenth district of the French capital on Wednesday, AFP reported.

The fatalities included two who died after they attempted to escape through windows.

The inferno injured four others at the private five-story building near the tourist hotspot of Sacre Couer cathedral.

The fire began in a ground floor stairwell and quickly enveloped the building's upper stories.

As many as 100 firefighters scrambled to contain the fire.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said it was "too early to determine the causes of this tragedy."

Police are investigating whether the fire was started intentionally.

“Paris is bereaved this morning,” The Guardian quoted mayor Anne Hidalgo as saying.

The mayor added that as many as 15 properties might have been damaged in the blaze.

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