Guests jump from windows as 20 die in fire

AT LEAST 20 people, including 10 children, are dead and more than 50 have been injured after fire swept through a Paris hotel popular with English tourists today.

Women and children leapt to their deaths from the burning building and more than 250 firefighters battled for hours to control the blaze at the Paris-Opera hotel. Witness Chakib San, who lives in an adjacent building, said he was awakened by cries of "Fire! Fire". He said he saw three people jump, including a woman and a child who lay motionless after hitting the ground.

"They were on the ground. They weren't moving," he said. " Everyone was screaming. There were bodies in the road."

At least one person sought refuge on the burning roof, screaming for help as flames poured from windows and firefighters scrambled up ladders.

Two others yelled for help from the window of a burning room. A fire officer cradled an infant in his arms as he carried her to safety amid jets of water from the hoses.

Among those who visited the horrific scene early today was Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin, who is leading France's fight against terrorism.

President Jacques Chirac said it was one of Paris's "most painful catastrophes". The Paris-Opera hotel, in the 9th district and just a short walk from the Eurostar terminal and its direct trains to London, only had one staircase and there was mass panic as the heat intensified.

Mehmet Tahbi, who lives opposite, said: "I saw a woman holding a baby jump out of a window at least 100 feet up."

Paris fire service spokesman Laurent Vibert said 76 people had been staying in the 32-room hotel.

The injured came from France, the United States, Portugal, Senegal, Tunisia, Ukraine and Ivory Coast.

Fire officials also said a Canadian was slightly injured. The nationalities of the dead were not given.

Thirteen of the injured are in a serious condition.

Fifty fire engines attended the scene and the nearby Galeries Lafayette department store was turned into a makeshift hospital for the injured.

Mr Vibert added: "We fear we might find more victims on the upper floors.

The fire broke out on the lower floors. There was no explosion."

The Paris-Opera is a one-star hotel popular with tourists because of its central location. It is also used by the council to accommodate people, mainly of North African - predominantly Tunisian - origin, waiting to move into state housing.

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