6. feb. 2023 08:50 – Updated 6 Feb. 2023 13:42
A woman and her seven children have died in a fire in the village of Charly-sur-Marne in the north of France. The fire is said to have started in a tumble dryer.
The seven children were between the ages of 2 and 14, the police said. Five of them were girls, while two were boys. The mother’s partner, who is the father of three of the children, has been sent to hospital with serious burns. He is the only one in the family who survived the fire.
The fire started in the family’s home on the night of Monday and is said to have been reported by neighbors shortly before 1am.
The father appears to have tried to put out the fire while the mother and children sought refuge on the second floor, but it turned out to be a trap, according to police.
All those who died died of smoke poisoning. Attempts were made to revive them, but their lives could not be saved.
The father was rescued by a firefighter who lives nearby, and who intervened before his colleagues arrived at the scene.
According to police investigator Julien Morino-Ros, it appears that the fire started in a broken tumble dryer, which was on the first floor. Thick, black smoke is said to have then seeped up to the second floor.
A total of 80 firefighters rushed out, and the fire was only extinguished after several hours.
The house is located in a narrow street in the center of the village, and firefighters had difficulty getting a fire escape up to the windows on the second floor. According to Morino-Ros, the electric window shutters were also out of order as a result of a power cut.
