At least nine people were killed, Wednesday, in a fire that broke out in a hostel housing people with mental disabilities in the Alsace region in eastern France, while President Emmanuel Macron expressed his sorrow for a “tragedy.”
“We have located nine bodies and we are searching for two more,” rescue operation commander Philip Howeller told AFP.
The fire broke out at dawn in Wintzheim, near Colmar. It is likely that the local authorities claimed the lives of 11 people.
“Unfortunately, we have no great doubts: all of them were inside the hostel and could not get out,” Christophe Marou, Secretary General of the Au-Ran District Local Administration, said at the scene.
He added that 28 people were on the scene when the disaster struck very early on, and only 17 of them were evacuated.
He pointed out that the missing are ten people with mild mental disabilities who were spending vacation in the shelter, in addition to one of the staff working with them.
“In Wintzheim, a hostel that housed people with intellectual disabilities and their companions was destroyed,” Macron said on the X platform (formerly Twitter). “In the face of this tragedy, my thoughts go out to the victims, the injured and their families,” he added.
He added, “Thank you to our security forces and relief services,” which contributed to the rescue operation.
At around 6:30 am local time (04:30 GMT), firefighters were notified of the fire in the building in La Forge, a small village surrounded by green hills.
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