Latest news with #Montmoreau
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
French rescuers find fourth body in wreckage of holiday care home
Fire investigators were on Tuesday continuing to sift through the rubble of a care home for adults with disabilities in Montmoreau, south-western France, after a fourth body was found in the charred ruins of the building on Monday night. Police said eight people with mental disabilities, four carers and the two owners of the property were in the converted farmhouse when the fire broke out on Monday. Three residents and one of the owners were among the dead. A fifth person is still missing. Mathieu Auriol, deputy prosecutor at the Angoulême public prosecutor's office, said autopsies would be carried out to establish the causes of death. Officers from the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute will also comb through the building. "They will intervene both on the forensic side and on the fire investigation side," added Auriol. Nearly 90 firefighters tackled the blaze which left four people injured. Charlotte Parmentier-Lecocq, France's Minister for Disabilities, who visited the scene of the fire, said: "Obviously I'd like to send my condolences to the families of the victims. I would also like to praise the work of the rescue services. They came swiftly and got people out." Podcast: AI 'à la française', immigration fact vs feeling, disability law Manslaughter investigation? While the precise causes of the fire are being investigated, the public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into manslaughter or unintentional injury. "We don't know what caused the fire, whether the smoke detectors worked properly, nor do we know how people became aware of the fire," added Parmentier-Lecocq. "We'll need to take time to carry out the investigation and not make guesses or speculate. (With newswires)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Four people die in French holiday home fire
A fire that broke out on Monday killed four people at a cottage in southwestern France, where adults with learning disabilities had gone on holiday, a French government official said. Including a couple who owned the house, 14 people aged 20 to 75 were inside the stone house when the blaze broke out before dawn in the village of Montmoreau, according to local officials. The guests included eight people with learning disabilities as well as four carers. The victims included one of the owners of the isolated farmhouse and three people with disabilities, including a 60-year-old woman, said France's minister for people with disabilities, Charlotte Parmentier-Lecocq. "The woman who owned the property entered voluntarily to rescue the people inside and lost her life in the attempt," Parmentier-Lecocq said. Rescue teams arrived on site 20 minutes after they were called, but were unable to resuscitate one person they evacuated, declaring the victim dead by asphyxiation, deputy prefect Jean-Charles Jobart said. They then found two bodies in the remains of the house, he said. A fourth victim was found later in the day in the burned-down guesthouse, said Parmentier-Lecocq. A fifth person remains missing, though authorities expect to find them "in the rubble," she added. The fire, brought under control late in the morning by some 85 firefighters, also left four people injured -- one of whom was initially in critical condition but is now stable, the minister said. The public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into manslaughter or unintentional injury, said Mathieu Auriol, a deputy prosecutor in the southwestern city of Angouleme. The National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute will carry out an investigation to "look for the causes" of the blaze, he added. - Reputable organisation - Deputy prefect Jobart said state services had inspected the cottage two years ago and approved it to welcome people with disabilities during the holidays. But Parmentier-Lecocq later said that the fire had started in an adjacent building, which had not undergone inspection in 2023. "We don't know what caused the fire, whether the smoke detectors worked properly, or how people became aware of the fire," she added. The minister added that the organisation that arranged the trip was reputable and trained, "particularly in fire safety". The fire comes almost two years after another blaze at a holiday home hosting adults with learning disabilities and their companions killed 11 people in eastern France. A prosecutor found that the home in the town of Wintzenheim was unlicensed and flouting fire security standards required for such a property. The guests on the lower floor of the timbered residence all managed to escape alive, but those on the upper floor found themselves trapped. It was the deadliest such fire disaster in the country since a blaze at a bar in the northern city of Rouen in 2016 killed 14 people. mar/ekf/ah/gv
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
At least three burned alive in their sleep after horror blaze erupts at holiday home for disabled people in France
AT least three people burned alive in their sleep after a harrowing blaze erupted at a holiday home for disabled people. The victims are said to have burnt to death within "minutes" in the cottage in south west of France. 6 6 6 6 Firefighters in Montmoreau, near Angouleume, confirmed the building was reduced to smouldering rubble in the early hours of Monday morning as holidaymakers slept. Local government official Jean-Charles Jobart said how three people are "confirmed dead" - with the figure "likely to rise" in the tragedy. He added: "The fire brigade's canine unit is trying to locate any other victims, and there are at least two other people confirmed missing." Mr Jobart said the alarm was first raised at 4:30am after a suspected electrical fault was thought to have caused the blaze. It soon spread quickly, and the deceased are believed to have burnt to death within 20 minutes, he added. Other suffered severe injuries, including one who remained in hospital intensive care on Monday afternoon. According to local cops, there were a total of 12 people with disabilities inside the holiday home. None have yet been identified by name, but Mr Jobart said a 60-year-old woman was among those who tragically died. It's feared that most of the victims were asleep when the deadly blaze broke out, and were unable to find an escape route after being asphyxiated by thick smoke. Jean-Michel Bolvin, the Mayor of Montmoreau, said the converted farmhouse had been "approved to accommodate disabled people during the holiday period". Moment 150 terrified passengers flee plane engulfed in smoke after landing gear issue sparked fire and injured one Mathieu Auriol, the Angouleme deputy prosecutor, said a criminal enquiry had been launched into "involuntary manslaughter and the involuntary causing of injury". He said there had been 14 adults aged 20 to 75 inside the destroyed building. All of the victim's had been on a week's holiday, Auriol added. Forensics experts are involved in the probe, with autopsies to be held to establish the exact cause of the deaths. Montmoreau - a commune in the department of Charente - has a population of just 2,500 people. The blaze comes just under two years since 10 disabled adults and a carer were killed by a fire at a holiday cottage in Wintzenheim, near Strasbourg, eastern France. All those who died were still asleep on the top floor of the two-storey building during the blaze, which spread rapidly. 6 6
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Fire at French holiday home for people with disabilities leaves 3 dead, 2 missing
PARIS — A fire swept through a holiday home housing people with disabilities and their carers in southwest France on Monday, killing at least three people, critically injuring another and leaving two people missing and feared dead, authorities said. The blaze erupted at around 4:30 a.m., destroying part of the guest house in Montmoreau in the Charente region, the local prefecture said. Two dozen fire engines and more than 80 fire officers rushed to tackle the blaze, which brought down parts of the roof, exposing charred beams. Sniffer dogs didn't find traces suggesting that the people missing escaped the flames, said Jean-Charles Jobart, secretary general of the Charente prefecture. He said three people were confirmed dead and two others were still missing, feared buried under the ruins. The critically injured person was poisoned by smoke, he said. The fire's causes are under investigation but are presumed to be accidental, he said. The Associated Press
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Associated Press
Fire at French holiday home for people with disabilities leaves 1 dead, 4 missing
PARIS (AP) — A fire swept through a holiday home housing people with disabilities and their carers in southwest France on Monday, killing at least 1 person, critically injuring another and leaving 4 people missing and feared dead, authorities said. The blaze erupted at around 4:30 a.m., destroying part of the guest house in Montmoreau in the Charente region, the local prefecture said. Two dozen fire engines and around 80 fire officers rushed to tackle the blaze, which brought down parts of the roof, exposing charred beams. Sniffer dogs didn't find traces suggesting that the four missing people escaped the flames, Jean-Charles Jobart, secretary general of the Charente prefecture, told broadcaster BFMTV. 'Most of them are surely still under ruins, doubtless dead,' he said. The fire's causes are under investigation but are presumed to be accidental, he said.
