Children among 10 killed in fire at seven-storey apartment block near Lyon

Around 180 firefighters at scene of blaze and area has been cordoned off

Policemen guard a security perimeter as firefighters and rescuers work in a building of the Mas-Du-Taureau quarter where a fire caused many victims, including children in Vaulx-en-Velin (AFP via Getty Images)

At least 10 people have been killed in a fire at a residential building in Vaulx-en-Velin near the French city of Lyon, the local government said.

The death toll includes five children aged between three and 15, officials said, and around 180 firefighters are at the scene of the blaze.

A security cordon has been set up around the site of the fire, local officials for the Lyon and Rhone region said. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Officials said the fire tore through the seven-storey building in the early hours of Friday morning.

Another 14 people have been injured in the blaze, including two firefighters, according to global security risk and management firm Crisis24, which said the fire started around 3am CEST.

Authorities are diverting the buses from the area, it said, adding that transport and business disruptions are expected to impact the area throughout the day as officials look to rescue people and investigate the cause of the fire.

The French interior minister has said the administration will investigate the fire incident.

The fire has now been extinguished, the minister Gerald Darmanin said, adding that he was heading to the site.

“We do not know the cause of the fire... there are several scenarios and a probe will be opened,” the minister said. He added that he was in touch with president Emmanuel Macron over the fire.