Paris
CNN
—
At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out at a vacation home in eastern France early Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The fire at the building in Wintzenheim, a small town near the German border about 315 miles (500 kilometers) east of Paris, broke out at about 6:30 a.m. local time. The prefecture of Haut Rhin, where Wintzenheim is located, said “violent flames” engulfed about 300 square meters (3,200 square feet) of the 500 square meter (5,400 square foot) structure.
Police said that nine bodies had been found. At least three were identified by drone, Wintzenheim Deputy Mayor Daniel Leroy said. Two more people are missing and feared dead.
Authorities deployed 76 firefighters, four fire trucks and four ambulances, and the blaze was brought under control by 9 a.m., the prefecture said in a statement. Seventeen people were evacuated from the structure.
Christophe Marot, a senior official in Haut Rhin, told CNN affiliate BFMTV that those inside the building could not escape from the blaze.
“We know that people were trapped,” Marot said in an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV. “It’s very tragic.”
The house had been hosting people with disabilities during the summer holidays. The group had been visiting from Nancy, a city about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of Wintzenheim, the prefecture of Haut Rhin said in a statement.
Leroy said all the visitors were adults, believed to be between 27 and 50 years old. The building where they were staying “completely destroyed,” by the fire, and only the ground floor remained, he said.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said several casualties had been reported “despite the rapid and courageous intervention of the fire department, to whom I pay tribute.”
President Emmanuel Macron offered condolences to those affected and thanked first responders in a statement.
“Faced with this tragedy, my thoughts go out to the victims, to the injured, to their loved ones. Thank you to our security forces and our mobilized emergency services.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said she would be traveling to the city with Aurore Bergé, the minister for solidarity, personal independence and disabled people.
“My first thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones,” she said. “I commend the firefighters’ response.”
