Five people, including three Turkish citizens, killed in fire in France
STRASBOURG – Agence France-Presse
Four children and an adult were killed in a fire that broke out in a social housing block in the eastern French city of Mulhouse on Oct. 1, with three of the victims being of Turkish origin.
French prosecutors said the fire was “most likely a result of arson.”
Eight others were injured, the local fire department stated, adding that three of them are in a serious condition.
Three of the victims were Turks, Turkish Consul General to Strasbourg Özgür Çınar told state-run Anadolu Agency.
“A crisis desk is working on this. We have assigned and sent a Directorate of Overseas Turks under the Prime Ministry [YTB] official to follow up on the case in France,” Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Çavuşoğlu said.
Firefighters managed to rescue another 12 occupants of the four-story building in the northern Bourtzwiller district, the fire department stated.
There were conflicting reports in the local media over the cause of the fire, with some suggesting the it broke out in a stairwell, and others saying it began in the basement.
“It’s terrible, the whole city has been shaken by this tragedy,” Mayor Jean Rottner told Agence France-Presse.
“The building is in a very good condition and is situated in a quiet housing project, with no particular problems,” Rottner said, although fatal fires at apartment blocks in France are not rare events.
The fire in Mulhouse, Alsace’s second-largest city, broke out in a neighborhood where many immigrants including Turks live.
A nine-year-old girl from Gümüşhane in Turkey’s Black Sea region, as well as a six-year-old and her eight-year-old brother from Kahramanmaraş in Turkey’s south are among the deceased.
