Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque is bereaved. a violent fire triggered by an explosion in three buildings killed at least seven people, including an infant and a child, in this small town in the Pyrénées-Orientales, on the night of Sunday February 13 to Monday February 14. An investigation to determine the causes of the disaster was opened and the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin went to the site.
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What happened ?
This strong explosion sounded around 1:30 a.m. in one of the main arteries of this town located about fifteen kilometers from Perpignan, causing a fire in small two-storey buildings on either side of the street, whose ground floors floor are occupied by a grocery store and a fast food stand. A resident of a nearby building, awakened in the middle of the night by the detonation, described to AFP a scene “horror”, “extraordinarily violent”.
“A lady called for help from the building opposite, when I opened the window, then I no longer heard her voice. The buildings were ravaged by flames, It was total panicshe confided. I heard a very loud explosion, then I saw big flames, then we heard screams, the windows across the street exploded.”
Several fire engines were on site to secure the scene after having brought the fire under control overnight.
What is the balance sheet?
In the morning, rescuers discovered the first five dead bodies in the rubble. Two other bodies were found a little later, bringing the death toll to seven. About twenty wounded were also taken care of, including one seriously. A man in his thirties had to be evacuated, being in a state of absolute emergency, after trying to escape the flames by jumping from his window located on the second floor of one of the buildings affected by the fire .
This still provisional assessment “can unfortunately evolve”, said the public prosecutor of Perpignan, Jean-David Cavaillé, during a press conference. Of the three buildings affected by the fire, two had been inspected Monday morning. The third, made unstable by the damage caused by the flames, is being secured to allow emergency services to access it. “There are one or two people we need to know if they are alive or not”said the prosecutor.
What do we know about the victims?
“It is still much too early to say who the seven people who died are”, said Jean-David Cavaillé. A baby and a child are among the victims. “Investigations are necessary. We imagine that they belong to several families. In any case, they were in different buildings”added the magistrate.
“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We will mobilize to help them as best we can in these most tragic circumstances.”, said the town hall of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque in a press release. A psychological aid unit will be set up quickly to support relatives and neighbors evacuated in the middle of the night.
Where is the investigation?
The Perpignan public prosecutor’s office opened a investigation for “arson causing death” to determine the causes of the explosion, added the prosecutor, considering that it was “too early as it stands to determine whether the cause is accidental or criminal”.
Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, explained that theCriminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie (IRCGN) would go down to Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque “to accompany a fire expert and the investigators in the field to establish the causes”.
According to the resident of the neighboring building, “the fire took in the grocery store or in the snack bar on the ground floor”. Gas cylinders were found near one of the buildings. It is not yet known if they are the cause or if they have aggravated the explosion.