The tragedy wiped out “an entire family”. Three children, a teenager and three adults, members of the same family of Comorian origin, died in a violent fire in a residential building in the Moulins district of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), on the night of Wednesday 17 to Thursday 18 July.
At the time of the tragedy, “10 people (were) inside the apartment, said the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Hugues Moutouh, this Thursday morning. Of the seven victims, six people — three adults and three children aged 5, 7 and 10 — were discovered inside the apartment, added the prefect. The seventh victim is a 17-year-old teenager who died after jumping out of a window, he explained.
Two surviving children
The fire broke out around 2am. The mother, aged 47 according to our information, first woke up two of her children to bring them closer to the window, before going back to get the other children and disappearing into the flames, the prefect indicated during a press conference.
A 47-year-old man, who also jumped from the apartment, was very seriously injured, the prefect said. A few minutes after the fire broke out, neighbors placed mattresses to try to mitigate the violence of the falls, several witnesses reported.
According to members of the local Comorian community, two of the survivors in the apartment are children of the family, a 17-year-old boy, twin of the one who died by jumping out of a window, and his 19-year-old older brother. “They are destroyed,” explained to Le Parisien Nadjim Maecha, president of the Comorian community of the Côte d’Azur, who knew the family.
A family “very involved” in the neighborhood
Described as “uneventful”, the family settled in the Moulins district of Nice in 2013. According to several testimonies collected by Le Parisien, parents and children had integrated well into the neighborhood. Nourredine Debbari, head of the association Nice Moulins Solidarités 06, described to Le Parisien a “very pleasant family, known, appreciated and involved in the neighborhood”. This former resident of Moulins indicated that one of the children was “a volunteer coach at the football club”.
“The father took part in a neighbourhood meeting with me last Sunday. The mother took part in the cultural life of the neighbourhood and in the cultural events of the Comorian community,” Nadjim Maecha told our colleagues at France Bleu.
“This family has always been a model of kindness and community involvement,” the association of Comorian students in Nice told Le Parisien. According to its members, the children “have never been involved in delinquency.” “Their parents have always worked for the well-being of the neighborhood” and the father, “known for his generosity and altruism,” regularly helped students in financial difficulty.
“He didn’t hesitate to accommodate fellow students for free for one or two weeks, while they found a room at the Crous,” according to a member of the association. Recently, the family was hosting “a 22-year-old girl,” continues this member. “She’s a close friend. I don’t know if she died or if she was among the injured,” he confides.
The preferred “criminal” track
An investigation has been opened “for acts of arson resulting in death,” declared the public prosecutor of Nice, Damien Martinelli, during a press briefing. The “criminal” lead is favored.
“Three individuals are being sought,” added Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, during a visit to the scene at midday, alongside Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. These three individuals are probably the “three hooded people” seen by video surveillance cameras at the time of the incident and mentioned in the morning by the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi and Anthony Borré, his first deputy.
The fire started on the second floor, in the common areas, and spread to the upper floors via the stairwell, according to the prefect.
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