Woman held over deadly fire in Paris apartment block
Paris: A woman is being held for a suspected "revenge arson attack" on a Paris apartment block in which 10 people are so far confirmed to have died, with 33 injured.
At least one of the victims was a "young child", according to the local mayor.
The fire, which broke out on Tuesday morning, Paris time, on the upper floors of the building in the rue Erlanger in the upmarket 16th district of south-west Paris, is the most deadly in the capital since 2005.
Videos from the scene showed the building engulfed in flames and fire fighters climbing flimsy ladders to rescue stricken residents, some in pyjamas, from the top of the eight-storey block. Many escaped on to the roof.
Remy Heitz, the Paris prosecutor, said that a "40-year-old woman who has prior psychological problems" had been arrested "apparently in a drunken state" at the scene after trying to set light to a car. "She apparently had a row with neighbours which ended badly and she set fire to the building," he added.
An investigation has been launched into the criminal charge of causing death by arson.
The suspect's neighbour, a 22-year old professional firefighter who declined to be named, told Le Parisien newspaper he thought the woman had acted in revenge after his girlfriend complained about loud music.
A fire in a Paris apartment building has killed seven people and sent residents fleeing to the roof or climbing out their windows to escape, authorities said. The cause of the blaze that injured 28 people on Tuesday morning local time is unclear.
Spokesman Clement Cognon of the city fire service said: "The situation was already dramatic when the firefighters arrived.
Firefighters rescued about two dozen people who had fled to the roof or climbed out windows to escape the flames, and evacuated others from inside.
The building is about one kilometre from the Roland Garros stadium that hosts the French Open tennis tournament, and close to the popular Bois de Boulogne park on the city's western edge. The 16th arrondissement is one of the most high-end and calmest districts of Paris.
More than 200 firefighters and emergency workers are on the scene, Paris police said, and the street is blocked off. People in neighboring buildings were also evacuated.
The fire comes a month after a deadly explosion and blaze linked to a gas leak in a Paris bakery.
Telegraph London, AP