REPORTAGE
Vénissieux is in shock. A family from this city on the outskirts of Lyon was decimated in a road accident on the A7 motorway on Monday evening in the Drôme. Five children were killed and four other passengers, who were in the same vehicle, were seriously injured.
Many testimonies have poured in to the town hall of Vénissieux, where the emotion is strong. But the circumstances of the tragedy, with nine people traveling in the same minivan, also raises questions from many residents.
>> READ - Accident on the A7: "The vehicle started to catch fire before rolling over"
"It's a horror"
The town has installed a condolence register in a corner of the town hall, placed on a table with a tablecloth and near a bouquet of white roses. The notebook already has a few messages: "thoughts to bereaved families", "may the little angels rest in peace" or even "good recovery to hospitalized people."
"It hurt us. A whole family left like that, it hurts the heart. There is no question of being Muslims or Christians, we are all the same," said Youssef, who signed the register. Beside him, his wife Kabira placed a white rose and recited a prayer, with her palms open and pointed towards the sky. "I said a prayer for the little ones who were burnt alive. It's a horror. I have a three year old grandson, and there we learned that there was a child of the same age who died. in the accident, "says Kabira, with sobs in his voice. "I ask why, why?".
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The circumstances of the tragedy raise questions
Everyone is asking themselves this question in Vénissieux. Even if these inhabitants did not know the family, they remain torn between emotion and incomprehension. An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the tragedy. The track of the technical problem, and in particular of a brake problem, was mentioned.
"A witness called us around 6:58 p.m., saying that he saw a vehicle on fire overtaking him on the A7 motorway. It was 200 to 300 meters, and this vehicle was trying to fall back on the emergency lane. It would seem that a mechanical problem did not allow it to brake in good conditions ", explained on Europe 1 Didier Amadei, the general controller of the firefighters of the department of Drôme, who were the first to intervene on the spot, 20 minutes after the accident.
"The vehicle then swerved and passed the emergency lane, and after a roll of barrels came to rest fully in flames. The fire was brought under control in less than ten minutes." The prognosis is life threatening for three of the four survivors, including a child. The prefect of Drôme said he feared that the balance sheet would increase.