Five dead, more than 50 hurt in Paris blaze

At least five people are dead and more than 50 others injured after fire ripped through an apartment block in Paris overnight.

Many residents were sleeping when the blaze broke out on the stairwell.

Fire crews arrived at the five or six storey building in the French capital’s 20th arrondissement or administrative district within minutes. But the fire spread rapidly.

Four people died jumping out of windows to try to escape the flames, according to emergency services.

Six people are seriously hurt. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

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