Woman held after suspected arson in Paris apartments kills 9

PARIS — A woman has been arrested after an overnight fire at an apartment building in a wealthy district of Paris killed at least nine people, officials said on Tuesday.

The woman, a resident of the eight-story building in the city’s 16th arrondissement, was arrested nearby, said Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz. He added that the woman had a history of mental health problems and was being investigated for arson.

Around 30 others were injured in the blaze, eight of them fire fighters, he added.

The fire appeared to have broken out on the building’s seventh or eighth floor, making the firefighting operation difficult. Though the fire was brought under control by 7 am (0600 GMT), rescue work was ongoing by midmorning.

“There is a danger of collapse between the seventh and eighth floors,” fire brigade spokesman Valerian Fuet told dpa. “We do not know whether there are further victims inside the destroyed apartments.”

The building, which broadcaster France Info said was constructed in the 1970s, had to be completely evacuated. Residents from several nearby buildings were also evacuated.

Many residents of the building had called for help from their windows and some fled onto the roof. A number of others were rescued with ladders.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo expressed her condolences to the victims’ families on Twitter and thanked firefighters, who she said had “once again risked their lives.”

In January, four people were killed and dozens were injured in a gas explosion at a bakery in central Paris. Two firefighters were among the dead.