Twelve deaths may be the tragic final balance of a fire that broke out this Wednesday in a holiday residence for the disabled in the town of Wintzenheim, in the Haut-Rhin department (Alsace), very close to the border with Germany. Firefighters have already recovered nine bodies and it is almost completely certain that another three reported missing have died. There is an injured person in a very serious condition.
The French Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, announced that she was moving immediately to the scene of the event, given its seriousness. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who is on vacation in Fort de Brégançon, on the Mediterranean coast, tweeted a message of solidarity with the victims of the tragedy and their families.
The origin of the fire, which was very violent and completely destroyed the building, is still unknown. About eighty firefighters participated in the extinction work. Forty gendarmes took care of cordoning off the area.
The general secretary of the Upper Rhine prefecture, Christophe Marot, announced that most likely the eleven people who disappeared at the beginning – all adults, between the ages of 27 and 50 -, who were on the upper floor, were not able to escape from flames and smoke. Then the confirmation would come. The firefighters were alerted around 6:30 in the morning and the fire could be extinguished quickly, although it was too late for the victims.
The residence was about 300 square meters. It was an old renovated farmhouse. It welcomed adults with mild mental disabilities who had come from Nancy to spend the holidays.
