Five children died in a blaze during a weekend visit to their divorced father overnight Saturday, while three squatters perished in a blaze near Paris, reports The Telegraph.
A divorced father who was hosting his children for the weekend jumped out of a first-floor window when flames engulfed his house in Saint-Quentin, a town which lies 130 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of Paris.
The divorced father escaped with light burns after jumping from a first-floor window, but all his five children died in the blaze late on Saturday evening, an official from the local prefecture told AFP, adding that the fire was "most likely accidental".
Elsewhere, a seven-storey building housing squatters in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers caught fire, killing three people. One person died after jumping out the window, another burnt to death on the third floor and a third died in hospital, officials said, adding that at least 13 people were injured.
A resident told journalists the blaze had broken out when someone threw a petrol bomb during a brawl between occupants, but investigators could not immediately confirm the fire was criminal.
Housing Minister Cecile Duflot, who went to the scene, said authorities had not been aware of any "particular warning signs" at the 1920s-era building.
But Evelyne Yonnet, deputy mayor for housing in the suburb north of the French capital, said the building was "very badly managed" and had been inhabited by squatters.
"There had been complaints from residents," she told journalists.
Read more of this AFP report published in The Telegraph.