Paris fire kills 12, injures 16

A fire broke out in a high-rise apartment building east of Paris early today, killing at least 12 people and injuring 16 others, firefighters said.

The blaze, the fourth deadly fire in the Paris area since April, broke out in the entrance hall of a 15-storey housing project in the Val-de-Marne region east of the capital, the local fire squad said. The fire was quickly extinguished by firefighters, but people had died as a result of toxic smoke.

About 200 firefighters rushed to the scene after the fire erupted in the town of L’Hay-les-Roses, and medical teams set up a mobile treatment site.

At least nine people were seriously injured, said local fire brigade spokesman Alain Antonini. Several were rushed to hospitals in the area.