The fire in a cottage in Wintzenheim (Haut-Rhin), which caused the death of eleven people on August 9, including ten adults with mild disabilities, is the subject of an investigation by two judges. ‘instruction. The results of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) are expected in early September.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, the two investigating judges were seized to investigate the fire at the gîte in Wintzenheim, where ten adults with mild disabilities and their companion lost their lives on August 9th.
A judicial investigation was opened on August 14 for “involuntary homicides and injuries aggravated by the violation of an obligation of security or prudence”. The objective is to determine the cause of the fire and the possible penal or civil responsibilities of the various actors, such as the owner of the lodging, the associations and the prefecture having granted temporary approval.
In particular, the investigators will have to collect the documents making it possible to verify the compliance of the accommodations. On August 9, 28 people were present during the fire in this renovated gîte. The people living on the ground floor and five people living upstairs survived, while eleven others perished.
The ten disabled holidaymakers who died ranged in age from 23 to around 50 years old. Their names were Jennifer, Claude, Jimmy, Jérôme, Marcelle, Laure, Fatima, Jérôme, Régis and Christelle, a 45-year-old Alsatian. A guide also lost his life.
After this disaster, which is the deadliest in France since the fire of a bar in Rouen in 2016, tributes were paid. A mass was celebrated in Amnéville in Moselle in memory of four victims, including Fatima. Her brother described her as a woman “who loved life, gone too soon”.
According to the town hall of Wintzenheim, the gîte, which was a renovated barn, had not been declared by its owner. In addition, the safety commission had not been requested, said the Colmar prosecutor’s office, which had initially opened an investigation before transferring it to the collective accident center in Paris because of the complexity of the case.
Alongside the judicial inquiry, social affairs also launched investigations. The results of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) are expected at the beginning of September, according to the Minister for People with Disabilities, Fadila Khattabi. She said that the two organizations that managed trips adapted for people with disabilities had an approval, one of which had its own temporarily extended.
The Minister of Solidarity, Aurore Bergé, has announced that she wants to launch a more general mission on the question of adapted holidays, in order to put in place stricter rules concerning the standards imposed, the target audience and the supervision ratio.
2023-08-16 17:02:42
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