A catastrophic fire tore through a French vacation home designed for adults with disabilities, claiming 11 lives on Wednesday, AP News reported.
The fire reportedly began at 6:30 a.m. The residence’s owner, who lives across the street, alerted the police when she noticed the fire and heard the distressing cries, the outlet noted.
Eleven individuals, including 10 with disabilities and one accompanying person, who were asleep on the upper floor and in a mezzanine area, died in the fire. While only five on the upper floor managed to escape, all 12 occupants on the ground floor were able to evacuate.
Authorities are investigating the fire’s cause and checking if the building conformed to safety regulations. One survivor has been hospitalized with serious injuries, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Shocking Video Shows Hawaii Residents Trying To Escape Fire)
The fire likely originated from the upper floor, according to Lt. Col. Philippe Hauwiller, who oversaw the firefighting efforts. The house’s design, with a stone ground floor and a wooden upper level, might have contributed to the fire’s quick spread, per AP News.
Many of the vacationers hailed from the city of Nancy in eastern France.
“The right to vacation is a fundamental right, above all for these people,” Mathieu Klein, Nancy’s mayor, said in response to the tragedy, the outlet noted.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and gratitude to first responders on Twitter.
“In the face of this tragedy, my thoughts are with the victims, the injured and their families. Thank you to our security forces and emergency services.”
This incident marks France’s most lethal fire since the 2016 Rouen nightclub tragedy that resulted in 14 deaths, the outlet reported.