Europe 1 with AFP 3:43 p.m., January 18, 2023

This Wednesday, the fire in an apartment in Rambouillet in the Yvelines killed at least three people.

The Versailles prosecutor's office has announced the opening of an investigation for "murder and willful destruction by fire resulting in death".

Children could be among the victims because the fire affected a family's apartment.

At least three people died in an apartment fire this Wednesday morning in Rambouillet in the Yvelines, the building having been evacuated, the Yvelines firefighters and a police source told AFP.

The emergency services intervened around 8:00 a.m. and were still on the spot around 10:00 a.m., the intervention being still in progress, added the prosecution, without being able to give further details because "the findings have not yet started".

"The three bodies are completely charred and unidentifiable" for the moment, said a police source.

But children could be among the victims because the fire affected the apartment of a family with two children, according to a source familiar with the matter.

By mid-morning, the fire was not completely extinguished and the entire building had been evacuated.

Contacted by AFP, the prefecture of Yvelines and Véronique Matillon, the mayor (DVD) of Rambouillet, could not be reached immediately.

About forty firefighters are still on the scene, where the Minister Delegate for Housing Olivier Klein was expected.

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An investigation has been opened

The Versailles prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday the opening of an investigation, entrusted to the Yvelines judicial police, for "murder and voluntary destruction by fire resulting in death" after the fire which killed three people.

"The very first forensic findings made on the spot indeed lead to consider that serious violence was exerted on the teenager" found dead after the disaster with a woman who could be his mother, aged 48, and a child. who could be his eight-year-old sister.

"From the first investigations, it appears that this woman of Bulgarian nationality was the untitled occupant of the apartment, whose leaseholder had been her companion from 2018 to 2020, the date of their separation. Since that date, she has occupied the apartment alone. housing, with his children, from a previous union", specifies the parquet floor.

The holder of the lease had seized the local court of Rambouillet which had ordered Tuesday the eviction of the occupant of this accommodation.