An eighth death was extracted from the rubble of the fire in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque (Pyrénées-Orientales), Perpignan prosecutor Jean-David Cavaillé announced on Monday. So far the report has reported seven deaths in this drama which took place overnight from Sunday to Monday, during a fire triggered by an explosion. A baby is among the victims. This “provisional” assessment could “unfortunately evolve”, said the prosecutor on Monday morning.
And the firefighters have, in fact, resumed Tuesday the search for possible other victims in the rubble of the buildings which burned in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, and had, this Tuesday, to carry out a delicate securing of the buildings, which delays the investigation work on the spot.
“In this building, the floors threaten to collapse”
One of the buildings has not yet been able to be inspected. He “is too impacted by the fire. We can’t find all the victims right now, we can’t get into them. In this building, the floors threaten to collapse, ”Olivier Di Bartolomeo, commander of the firefighters mobilized in the center of this town of 10,000 inhabitants of the Pyrénées-Orientales, told journalists. “There is no longer any hope” of finding survivors, he added.
During the night from Sunday to Monday, around 1:30 a.m., an explosion damaged several businesses and apartments, which were then reached by the flames. A baby a few months old and a two-year-old child are among the seven dead, surprised in their sleep. A man, who jumped from the 2nd floor to escape the flames, was seriously injured. Residents of the neighborhood were evacuated, many in shock, to municipal halls. A psychological support unit was made available to them.
An investigation for “arson causing death” has been opened
Tuesday morning, smoke still emanated from one of the buildings because beams continue to burn. But as soon as the fire was brought under control, the gendarmes carried out observations and samples. They were joined by specialists from the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute (IRCGN) and fire experts. A dozen investigators took photos and marked the ground. “The expertise (inside the buildings) can only take place tomorrow (Wednesday) and subject to the securing of the buildings”, according to a source from the prosecution.
The explosion appears to have occurred on the ground floor of the buildings, where there is a grocery store and a fast food restaurant. An investigation for “arson causing death” was opened by the prosecutor of Perpignan, Jean-David Cavaillé, who estimated Monday that it was “too early in the state to determine if the cause is accidental or criminal”. The investigation will have to specify if gas cylinders, stored at the grocery store, are at the origin of the drama.