Death Toll Of Paris Building Blaze Rises To 10 – Report

French firefighters had found two more lifeless bodies in the Paris building ravaged by a huge fire on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 10, local media reported.

The fire broke out after midnight on the upper floors of an eight-storey building in Paris’ swanky 16th district, which is home to foreign embassies and renowned museums.

It has been brought under control by firefighters.

At least 10 residents died and 36 people were injured, including eight firefighters, according to the report.

“It was a particularly violent fire,’’ Captain Clement Cognon of the Paris fire service told BFM TV, adding that the casualties were likely to increase.

French judicial police had opened an investigation for “voluntary destruction by fire leading to death,’’ as investigators were favouring a “criminal’’ cause for the blaze, Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz told reporters at the scene.

A 40-year-old female resident of the eight-storey building has been detained and remanded in police custody, he said.

Known to have had psychological problems, the woman was suspected to be behind the fire in Rue Erlanger, Western Paris, he added, noting that the investigation will determine how the fire broke out and why it spread so quickly.

“France wakes up in emotion after the fire in Paris tonight. Thoughts for the victims. Thanks to the firefighters whose courage saved many lives,’’ wrote President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter. (Xinhua/NAN)