Paris hotel fire kills 13, injures 57

A fire roared through a central Paris hotel early today, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more, fire officials said. A witness said he saw several hotel guests leap from windows to escape the flames.

The fire occurred in the one-star Paris Opera hotel in the capital’s 9th district, an area frequented by tourists. At least 57 people were injured, 12 seriously, said fire services spokesman Laurent Vibert. Many of the guests were African, he said.

Firefighters rescued some people from the hotel, but others jumped out of windows to escape flames and choking smoke, said Vibert.

Chakib San, who lives in an adjacent building, said he was awakened by cries of “Fire! Fire!” He said he saw three people jump from low floors of the six-story building, including a woman and a child who lay motionless after hitting the ground.

“They were on the ground. They weren’t moving,” he said.

“Everyone was screaming,” he added. “There were bodies in the road.”

The injured were treated and the dead bodies temporarily stored in the Galaries Lafayette department store, one of Paris’ busiest and most famous stores.

The fire took more than an hour to bring under control and was still smouldering hours later. Some 250 firefighters and 50 fire engines responded.

Nearly all of the six floors were blackened inside.

Many guests were African, but there were also at least three Canadians in the hotel, one of whom was slightly injured, said Vibert.

The dead were recovered “from the road, from inside, just about everywhere,” he said.

The hotel owner believes the fire broke out in a second floor breakfast room, Vibert added.

San said he spoke to Australians, Canadians and Tunisians who escaped the fire. A woman who works in a nearby hotel brought out a ladder and together they used it to rescue a girl from the first floor, said San.

“We got out a little girl. The fire services arrived just afterward,” he said.