Seven killed in apartment fire in Nice: Monaco sends support to families

Prince Albert II has sent his condolences after a violent apartment fire in Nice claimed the lives seven people, including three children, in the early hours of Thursday. Police are investigating arson as a possible cause.

The fire broke out in the Moulins district of Nice at around 2.30am, the flames engulfing the top floor of the residence building on Rue Santoline, west of the city. Among the victims are three children aged five, seven and 10, according to Hugues Moutouh, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes.

Arson is being investigated as a possible cause of the fire, with the local newspaper reporting that three hooded men were seen at the building before the flames took hold. 

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin were lead to the scene on Thursday by Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi. 

At midday, Prince Albert II of Monaco sent a letter of condolence to the city’s long-running mayor. 

“It is with deep sadness and great emotion that I learned about the tragic news of the deadly fire that broke out in a building in Nice last night,” reads the statement by Monaco’s Sovereign. “In this painful circumstance, I wish to express my heartfelt sympathy to the families of the victims and all those affected by this catastrophe. My thoughts are also with the firefighters and all the emergency responders who bravely battled the flames under difficult conditions. Please accept, Mr. Mayor, the assurance of my solidarity during this difficult time.”

Some residents in the building were trapped in their apartments as smoke filled the stairwell. They were were rescued by emergency services, including over 100 firefighters, who rushed to the scene. 

According to witnesses, two victims jumped from the seventh floor balcony to escape the flames, their neighbours throwing mattresses on the ground to soften their fall, in vain. One died, the other was seriously injured and remains in intensive care. 

The other victims, firefighters reportedly later discovered, was a mother trying to shield her three children from the flames in the bathroom of the burning apartment. All were killed. 

According to Nice Matin, 10 people were living in the apartment that was ravaged by flames, seven of them were killed: two women, one man and four children. 

The community of Nice, along with everyone who has heard of this tragedy, is struggling to comprehend it.

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