NICE: Police were hunting three arson suspects on Thursday after an apartment building fire killed seven people in the southern French city of Nice, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said.

The dead include three children — 5, 7 and 10 years old — and a 17-year-old who tried to escape by jumping from a window, they added. The apartment is located in the low-income neighbourhood of Les Moulins, known for being a drug-dealing hub, in the west of the city.

“What happened here, this fire, is absolutely awful and revolting,” Attal told reporters at the scene, adding that “the investigation is ongoing, three individuals are being sought”. Nice Deputy Mayor Anthony Borre had said earlier that surveillance footage showed three men wearing balaclavas in the vicinity.

The apartment was occupied by a family believed to have Comoran origins, regional prefect Hugues Moutouh said, referring to the southern African island nation.

Ten people were inside when the fire broke out and rescuers were alerted at around 2:30am to the blaze on the seventh floor of the building. In spite of the substantial resources deployed, “unfortunately seven people died during this fire”, firefighters said.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2024