NEWS: At least 13 Die in Paris Hotel Blaze, page 1

posted on Apr, 14 2005 @ 10:58 PM

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At least 13 people have died, 10 are seriously injured and about 50 more people were slightly hurt in a Paris hotel blaze, the Paris fire brigade said today. Police are saying the fire was at the Paris-Opera hotel in a central area of the French capital close to the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps shops which many tourists visit.

today.reuters. co.uk
At least 13 people were killed and dozens hurt in a fire that swept through a hotel in central Paris early on Friday near the Galeries Lafayette luxury department store, fire officials said.

The blaze gutted the six-storey Paris-Opera hotel, and children and tourists were believed to be among the dead and injured, said fire brigade spokesman Laurent Vibert.
"Thirteen people were killed," he said. "The toll is provisional because we fear we might find more victims on the upper floors.

"It was a serious fire. You don't often see such fires in Paris. There was only one staircase and the fire broke out on the lower floors. There was no explosion."

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Serious fire, only one staircase for escape could mean there may be more dead. I hope that that will not be the case.

Officials are now reporting Seventy-six people were thought to have been in the hotel and if that is true that would leave only 3 unaccounted for at this time. In addition they are saying the cause is of unkown origin.

[edit on 4/14/2005 by shots]

[edit on 4/14/2005 by shots]

Hellmutt

posted on Apr, 14 2005 @ 11:46 PM

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The cause of the blaze is still unclear

BBC: Fatal blaze guts Parisian hotel

At least 12 of the wounded were in a serious condition after the blaze, in the city's 9th arrondissement.

The fire, which broke out at about 0200 (0000 GMT), gutted the six-storey Paris-Opera hotel.

Some of the guests leapt from windows to escape the flames

It is not clear who was staying in the hotel.

shots

posted on Apr, 15 2005 @ 12:08 PM

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The death toll has risen to 20. Authorities also fear there will be more loss of life.

Many of the guests were African. A statement from City Hall said 65 people had been placed in the hotel by state services, while 14 others — eight of them children — were placed there by city officials. French social services typically place people in hotels while seeking longer-term housing solutions.

[edit on 4/15/2005 by shots]

Curiousone

posted on Apr, 15 2005 @ 12:12 PM

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Is the cause of this fire any clearer today???? Things that make ya go HMMMMMMMMM

shots

posted on Apr, 15 2005 @ 12:16 PM

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Is the cause of this fire any clearer today???? Things that make ya go HMMMMMMMMM

The cause is still unkown however they have opened an investigation

The prosecutor's office opened an investigation for manslaughter, judicial officials said. "At this stage, we have no indication that it was anything but an accident," Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said at the scene.