French heat wave kills up to 3,000

FRANCE’S health ministry said up to 3,000 people may have died across the country from a two-week heat wave.

The statement confirmed the toll put forward by doctors who had accused the government of underestimating the scale of the disaster. Deaths accelerated in the past week, with up to 180 people dying in one day in Paris all linked to the abnormally high temperatures that have smothered France, the ministry said. The August heat has devastated livestock and fanned wildfires.

Many people died while locked inside apartments, raising concerns about hygiene and odour.

"With many families gone on holiday, there are a lot of elderly people alone in big cities in August," said health ministry spokeswoman Laurence Danand.

Morgues and funeral directors have reported skyrocketing demand for their services. It was the government's first official death- toll estimate.

After days of complaints about the slow government response, on Wednesday it launched crisis-management measures usually reserved for epidemics and terror attacks.

Under the order, hospitals in Paris mobilised a large number of beds and called back healthcare workers from holiday. Critics said it amounted to too little, too late.

"We said: 'Watch out, something's happening. There are a lot of people arriving' but no one listened," said Patrick Pelloux, head of France's emergency physicians' association.

"When it's all counted, we're going to have 3,000-5,000 dead," said Mr Pelloux. "It's a nationwide catastrophe the likes of which we've never seen."

General Funeral Services, France's largest undertaker, said it handled 3,230 deaths from August 4-10 against 2,300 on an average week, a 37% jump.

The ministry said its estimate was partly drawn from studying deaths in 23 Paris region hospitals from July 25-August 12 and from information provided by General Funeral Services.

Paris City Hall said it had taken extra measures to ensure funeral homes would stay open to bury bodies tomorrow, a holiday.