Christmas morning blaze kills one in Paris
One person has died and another's life is in danger after a Christmas morning fire in a Paris apartment block. Firefighters battled the blaze for two hours before extinguishing it at 6.30am.
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Paris mayor Betrand Delanoë expressed deep sorrow in a statement that reported one person had died, another was in hospital in a serious condition and two others had been rescued after being overcome by smoke.
Another 11 people were "taken to safety", according to officials.
The emergency services were called to the block of flats in Paris's 13th arrondissement, an area with a large Asian-origin population, at 4.00am and 93 firefighters with 30 fire engines fought the flames.
The fire started in the block's lift shaft and damaged two flats, one on the sixth floor, the other on the ninth.
An inquiry will be launched to establish the cause, Delanoë said.
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