2023-08-13 19:27:00
Some 150 people gathered this Sunday in Moselle four days after the terrible fire which claimed the lives of 11 people.
By NB with AFP Nearly 150 people gathered for mass in homage to the victims of the fire. © JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN / AFP Published on 08/13/2023 at 7:27 p.m.
A mass in tribute to four victims of the terrible fire of Wintzenheim, which killed a total of 11 people, was held on Sunday in Amnéville, in Moselle. “I am thinking of the reactions of all those who are sad today and have lost all hope” after this tragedy, Father Fabrice Langenfeld told the 150 or so people who had taken their places on the pews of the Saint-Joseph church. He again welcomed a “momentum of solidarity”, judging “good to come together to come together to unite”.
Among the victims, four were members of the association of parents of maladjusted children (APEI) in Moselle: three lived in a home in Amnéville while the fourth was at the medico-educational institute of Pierrevilliers. Jérôme, Fatima, Laure, and Marcelle were between 40 and 50 years old. Relatives were present on Sunday, including Fatima’s brother as well as her mother-in-law and friends. “She loved life, she left too soon,” her brother told the press, who did not wish to speak further. READ ALSOWintzenheim fire: what is a “smoldering fire”?
A “mark of support from the municipality and all the inhabitants”
Four candles had been placed on the altar, lit by the altar boys at the end of the mass, which lasted about an hour. “Families needed this mark of support from the municipality and all the inhabitants,” said the mayor of Amnéville, Eric Munier. The Moselle has a fifth victim who worked at the Public Social and Medico-Social Establishment of Saulnois, in Albestroff.
In Meurthe-et-Moselle, where four other victims are from, registers of condolences have been opened in Nancy, Saint-Max, Tomblaine, Val de Briey as well as at the departmental council. The tenth victim with a disability lived in Alsace, near Strasbourg. READ ALSOWintzenheim fire: what we know about the owner of the gîte
In view of the number of victims and the complexity of the investigations, the Colmar public prosecutor’s office relinquished the case on Friday in favor of Paris, which opened a preliminary investigation for homicides and involuntary injuries “aggravated by the violation of a security obligation or prudence provided for by law or regulation”. According to the town hall of Wintzenheim, the gîte, a barn renovated a few years ago which then accommodated 28 people, most of them with disabilities, had not been declared by its owner. The security commission had not been requested either, according to the Colmar prosecution.
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