MARSEILLE: Three men died in the French southern city of Marseille on Saturday when a fire broke out in a public housing building where they were squatting, officials said.

A two-year-old and an adult were also seriously hurt in the fire at the building, where migrants from Nigeria are known to squat, a judicial source said, adding that the three men who died were undocumented migrants.

Marseille prosecutor Dominique Laurens said there was evidence of “at least two start points for the fire, one on the sixth floor and one in the stairwell”, suggesting the blaze was started deliberately.

The three dead men, all Nigerians aged 20 to 30, were among five people who leapt from the windows of the burning 10-storey building, suggesting “total panic” at the sight of the burning stairwell, Laurens said.

Knotted sheets still hanging from some windows later on Saturday were a sign of just how desperate inhabitants had become on noticing the fire, while some locals gathered outside angrily recounted tensions between squatters and drug dealers in the block.

“The dealers terrify us. They have weapons. They stop us sleeping,” 30-year-old Azeke Endurance said outside the apartment building.

“There is a notorious (drug) dealing point here and there are tensions between the residents and the traffickers,” police chief Frederique Camilleri said, while prosecutor Laurens said price lists for different drugs were scrawled on the walls in the stairwell.

Marseille city hall said that 91 people including 28 women and 27 children were being put up temporarily in gymnasiums.

The building owner, 13 Habitat which manages a chain of public housing in the region, said that the building was on a list to eventually be demolished.

“If the cause of the fire has yet to be determined... what is clear is that the unliveable situation of the squatters here and elsewhere in Marseille’s public housing blocs creates a dangerous situation and serious risks” for everyone, said Samia Ghali, Marseille deputy mayor.

Marseille politicians faced accusations of ignoring warnings about unsafe housing in 2018, when eight people were killed when two buildings collapsed in the centre of the port city.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2021

Opinion

Who bears the cost?

Who bears the cost?

This small window of low inflation should compel a rethink of how the authorities and employers understand the average household’s

Editorial

Internet restrictions
Updated 23 Dec, 2024

Internet restrictions

Notion that Pakistan enjoys unprecedented freedom of expression difficult to reconcile with the reality of restrictions.
Bangladesh reset
23 Dec, 2024

Bangladesh reset

THE vibes were positive during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent meeting with Bangladesh interim leader Dr...
Leaving home
23 Dec, 2024

Leaving home

FROM asylum seekers to economic migrants, the continuing exodus from Pakistan shows mass disillusionment with the...
Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...