The firefighters, who arrived less than 20 minutes after the alert launched around 4:30 am in Montmoreau, near the city of Angoulême, were first able to evacuate a person “who could not be resuscitated and who died, asphyxiated,” said Jean-Charles Jobart, local state representative.
Then two new bodies were found in the rubble, said at the end of the morning Mr. Jobart during a press point.
“The dogs have just scored two places inside the house, so probably the assessment will increase,” he said.
The fire also made four injured, including one in absolute emergency, but whose vital prognosis is not engaged according to the prosecution. Fourteen adults aged 20 to 75 were inside the cottage: eight people suffering from a mental handicap and four supervisors, present for a one -week stay, and the two owners, according to Mr. Jobart.
“Some families discover the horror of these facts and will be taken care of, which is why we will not disclose any identity at this stage,” said Mathieu Auriol, vice-prosecutor at the Angoulême prosecution, who confirmed that one of the three deceased was the owner of the cottage.
Up to 24 vehicles and 85 firefighters were mobilized to fight this fire, considered to be off at the end of the morning.
The prosecution opened an investigation for “manslaughter or involuntary injury against X,” said Auriol.
“There will be autopsies to confirm the causes of death,” he added.
The fire occurs a little less than two years after the one who killed 11 dead in an old barn transformed into a gîte welcoming light disabled people in Wintzenheim, near Colmar, in the east of France. Ten disabled adults and an accompanist had perished in the disaster.
