Lausanne restaurant fire injures 17 people
Seventeen people were slightly injured and around 50 evacuated on Sunday when a fire swept through a restaurant in Lausanne, police said.
The fire broke out around 4pm in a restaurant on the ground floor of a six- or seven-storey building, local police spokesman Michel Gandillon told AFP.
Seventeen people suffered light burns or smoke inhalation and were sent to hospital for a control, he said.
Firefighters brought the flames under control within about an hour.
According to media reports, a wedding celebration had been going on at the time in the Ethiopian restaurant in the centre of the Vaud capital.
Party-dressed people came rushing out as thick black smoke billowed out of the building, some screaming and others falling to their knees, the ATS news agency reported.
Police said it remained unclear how the fire had started, but the 20Minutes website quoted witnesses saying a firecracker set off inside during the wedding party had started the blaze.
"I heard a boom, an explosion, and then the whole street was filled with smoke," one witness told the news site.
Comments
See Also
The fire broke out around 4pm in a restaurant on the ground floor of a six- or seven-storey building, local police spokesman Michel Gandillon told AFP.
Seventeen people suffered light burns or smoke inhalation and were sent to hospital for a control, he said.
Firefighters brought the flames under control within about an hour.
According to media reports, a wedding celebration had been going on at the time in the Ethiopian restaurant in the centre of the Vaud capital.
Party-dressed people came rushing out as thick black smoke billowed out of the building, some screaming and others falling to their knees, the ATS news agency reported.
Police said it remained unclear how the fire had started, but the 20Minutes website quoted witnesses saying a firecracker set off inside during the wedding party had started the blaze.
"I heard a boom, an explosion, and then the whole street was filled with smoke," one witness told the news site.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.