Nine dead, 11 missing after fire razes holiday home for disabled in France

French police have confirmed the death of nine people after fire razed down a holiday home for the disabled in the northeastern town of Wintzenheim.

The officials earlier said 11 people – including 10 adults with disabilities and one staff member – were missing.

The Chief Fire Commander in Wintzenheim and head of rescue operations, Philippe Hauwiller, said that “11 people were missing, while 17 others were rescued by nearly 80 firefighters that were sent to the fight the blaze in La Forge after emergency services were alerted at 06:30 local time (04:30 GMT) on Wednesday.”

Read also: 13 dead after fire outbreak at a bar in France

According to Hauwiller, the missing people are considered “potentially deceased”, adding that though the fire has been extinguished, its cause is not yet clear.

“The bodies of nine people have been found and one other person is feared dead after a fire at a holiday home for disabled people in eastern France,” he told a news conference.

“Seventeen others were led to safety with one person taken to hospital in a relative emergency after a fire broke out at 6.30am local time in the Haut-Rhin department town of Wintzenheim.

“11 people, including 10 adults with disabilities and one staff member, are missing. We are looking for the bodies of those who could not leave the building.”

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