A fire in France on Wednesday ripped through holiday lodging for a group of persons with learning difficulties, resulting in the discovery of nine bodies and the disappearance of two people.
The incident has been described by France president, Emmanuel Macron as a “tragedy.”
The fire broke out at the timbered residence in the eastern town of Wintzenheim late at night, and residents on the upper floor were unable to react quickly enough to save their lives.
Secretary general of the Haut-Rhin prefecture in eastern France, Christophe Marot said there was “little doubt” the missing were in the blazing structure and were unable to escape.
The incident, which occurred during the peak of the country’s summer vacation season, is the deadliest in France since a fire at a pub in the northern city of Rouen killed 14 people in 2016.
“We have located nine bodies and we are still looking for two,” Philippe Hauwiller, who is leading the fire brigade search operation, told AFP.
With the complex search efforts ongoing, he added: “The difficulty lies in accessing the affected levels, since there is a lot of rubble, a lot of collapsed parts and the stability of the floor is very uncertain.”
