Chirac orders inquiry into new deadly Paris blaze

French President Jacques Chirac on Tuesday asked investigators to work hard to find out what caused a fire in a Paris apartment building with seven deaths, the second deadly blaze in just four days.

Last Friday, a similar blaze killed 17 Africans -- 14 children and three adults -- in the southeast of the French capital.

Chirac said in a statement:"I have asked the services in charge of the investigation to diligently determine the exact circumstance of this drama."

Four children and three adults, all African immigrants living in a rundown building in the central Marais district, died in the latest blaze, which broke out late Monday.

The fire was believed to have started on the second floor of the building. The cause for the fire was not clear yet.

District officials said a dozen families from the Ivory Coast lived in the building, whose conditions authorities said were "absolutely inadmissible and dangerous."

The fires drew attention on the plight of poor immigrants in Paris and angry calls for improving the living conditions of the needy.

In April, another fire swept through a hotel used by African immigrants in central north Paris, killing 24.

Source: Xinhua