Investigation for manslaughter opens after fire at French home for disabled adults killed 11
A Paris prosecutor has opened a preliminary judicial investigation for unvoluntary manslaughter aggravated by breach of safety rules after a fire left 11 dead at a vacation home housing adults with disabilities in eastern France
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Paris prosecutor opened a preliminary judicial investigation on Friday for unvoluntary manslaughter aggravated by breach of safety rules, after a fire left 11 dead at a vacation home housing adults with disabilities in eastern France.
Wednesday's fire killed 10 adults with slight intellectual disabilities and one person accompanying them.
The judicial investigation will seek to determine the cause of the blaze, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office.
It comes after the discovery that required safety standards weren’t met at the private vacation house in the Alsacian town of Wintzenheim.
“The first investigations led to question the legal and material safety conditions of the building,” which was housing 28 people, the statement said.
A prosecutor in Paris has taken over the case because of the high number of victims and the scale of the investigation, it said. The case was previously being supervised by the deputy prosecutor of Colmar, in eastern France.
Vacationers were sleeping when the fire broke out early on Wednesday.
Only five of those who were staying on the upper floor of the house survived, including three vacationers and two staff accompanying them. They were all able to get out of the hospital by the end of the day on Wednesday, the statement said.
Twelve others who were staying on the ground floor were able to evacuate.
It was the deadliest fire in France since an August 2016 blaze that killed 14 people in a basement nightclub in the western city of Rouen.