France: Several missing after deadly fire at care center

Authorities in the eastern French town of Wintzenheim on Wednesday said nine people died and three more were missing after a blaze broke out at a holiday cottage hosting a group of disabled people.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said it was believed that there were several casualties after the fire ravaged the building.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that she was on her way to the scene of the fire.

Christophe Marot, the secretary general of the local administration, told a local broadcaster that the vacationers included people with "slight intellectual disabilities."

What we know so far

Darmanin tweeted that "early this morning, a fire broke out in a facility for disabled people" in the small town near the city of Colmar, close to France's border with Germany.

"Despite the rapid and courageous intervention of the fire department... several casualties are reported," he said.

Later on Wednesday, nine bodies were found at the center.

The group of adults staying at the cottage had been on vacation from the nearby city of Nancy.

The blaze broke out at about 6:30 a.m. (0430 UTC/GMT) local time.

The fire department sent scores of firefighters and four fire trucks to contain the blaze as well as several ambulances to treat the victims. Forty police officers were also mobilized.

Seventeen people were successfully evacuated from the center, including one person who was hospitalized in a "relative emergency."

Fire brought under control

Philippe Hauwiller, who was leading the team of firefighters conducting rescue operations, said that only those who were on the ground floor had been able to escape.

11 people had been staying on the upper floor and a mezzanine level that collapsed.

The prefecture said the fire had been quickly brought under control but that some 300 square meters (about 3,300 square feet) of the 500-square-meter home had burned.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "In the face of this tragedy, my thoughts are with the victims, the injured and their families. Thank you to our security forces and emergency services."