Ten people — including five children — died in a fire in Lyon early on Friday morning, AFP has reported.
The fire, which engulfed the top three floors of an eight-story apartment building in the northern suburb of Vaulx-en-Velin, also left four people in critical condition. Ten others have sustained minor injuries.
According to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, the children killed ranged from 3 to 15 years-old.
"It's obviously a shock, the death toll is extremely serious," he said.
Emergency services were summoned at 03:12 local time on Friday morning, and arrived at the scene 13 minutes later. The fire was finally put out at around 06:00 with the help of more than 170 local firefighters.
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Darmanin also informed reporters that the cause of the fire remains unknown.
"We do not know the cause of the fire and the investigation will be able to find out," he said.
