The death toll in a fire at an overcrowded budget hotel in Paris climbed to 21 as investigators continued their probe into the cause, police said today.

Alfred Millot was among the first to set eyes on the horrifying scene, an overcrowded budget hotel ablaze at night, with panic-stricken people dangling from flaming windows.

PEOPLE jumped from windows or screamed for rescue from flames as a pre-dawn fire roared through a Paris hotel used to house needy African families yesterday morning, killing at least 20 people, half of them children.

People jumped from windows or screamed for rescue from flames as a pre-dawn fire roared through a Paris hotel used to house needy African families this morning, killing at least 20 people, half of them children.