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FIRE

Italian man dies in Swiss Alps chalet fire

A man who died in a fire that ripped through a chalet complex in the Swiss Alps is the 21-year-old son of the CEO of MSC Cruises.

Published: 5 February 2016 11:48 CET
Italian man dies in Swiss Alps chalet fire
View of Villars, where the fire broke out. Photo: Office du Tourisme Villars

The fire erupted in the building in Villars-sur Ollon, a mountain ski resort town in the canton of Vaud, early on Wednesday morning.

Police said on Thursday that identifying the victim, from Genoa, might take some time, although reports in the Italian media say he is Lorenzo Onorato, the son of Gianni Onorato, who joined MSC in 2013 after leaving rival firm, Costa Crociere. 

MSC gave its condolences to the Onorato family on Thursday.

Another 20-year-old managed to save himself by jumping from a window on the third floor of the building, landing on mattresses piled up by neighbours to break his fall.

The structure consisted of 20 apartments, some of which were occupied year-round, while others were used as holiday homes. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

The building is near the ski resort of Villars-Gryon in the Vaud Alps.

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FIRE

Barcelona fire kills four, including two children

A fire ripped through an abandoned bank occupied by squatters in central Barcelona on Tuesday, killing four people, including a baby and a three year-old boy, Spanish firefighters said.

Published: 30 November 2021 10:41 CET
Police and firefighters gather outside an abandoned building where a blaze broke out early on November 30, 2021 in Barcelona, killing four people.
Police and firefighters gather outside an abandoned building where a blaze broke out early on November 30, 2021 in Barcelona, killing four people. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)

“While we were battling the fire, we found four people. Emergency services tried to revive them but unfortunately they failed, they could not do anything to save them,” the head of the firefighting operation, Ángel López, told reporters.

Firefighters rescued four other people who were inside the building while putting out the blaze, he added.

Those four were treated for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters rushed to the scene at around 6 am after being warned that a blaze had broken out in the building, Mr Lopez said.

While Mr López said it was not clear how the four dead people were related, Barcelona-based daily newspaper La Vanguardia said they were all members of a Romanian family.

A spokesman for Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, said an investigation had been opened into the causes of the fire.

In December 2020, four people were killed after a blaze ripped through an industrial complex occupied by squatters, many of them African migrants, near Barcelona.

Over 100 squatters were believed to be living in precarious conditions at the abandoned complex in Badalona, a suburban town north of the city.

In addition to the four deaths, more than 20 people were injured in the blaze.

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