Paris: Eight people have died in an overnight blaze at an apartment block in Paris that is being treated by police as possible arson attack, officials said Tuesday.Captain Cognon added: "We had to carry out many rescues, notably for around a dozen people who had taken refuge on the roofs.Described as a "scene of incredible violence", the blaze left around 30 people -- including six firefighters -- with injuries. She&TYPE-4B SEMI RIGID PVC HOSE39;s currently in custody," Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said from the scene on Tuesday morning.The fire on the top floors of an eight-storey building in the rue Erlanger in the wealthy 16th district of southwest Paris is one of the most deadly in the capital in years. In total about 50 people were evacuated by firefighters, including through the installation of ladders.Several streets were cordoned off by police and fire crews, and an AFP journalist said a strong smell of smoke hung in the air.
Pictures from the fire brigade showed flames leaping out of top floor windows and firemen climbing ladders to rescue terrified residents from thick black smoke. The residential neighbourhood lies on the edge of the vast Bois de Boulogne park and close to the stadium of football club Paris Saint-Germain, the Parc des Princes. "One person has been arrested.In late December, two women and two girls died from asphyxiation in a fire that broke out in a public housing block in a suburb northeast of Paris. The fire started at about 1:00 am and was finally brought under control more than five hours later by around 200 firefighters.