French apartment fire claims another Turkish victim


Another Turkish national injured in a fatal fire that broke out in a French housing block has died, bring the death toll from the Oct. 1 blaze to six. Nihal Ertuc, who sustained burns to 60 percent of her body, passed away at Metz University Hospital late on Tuesday night, her family told an Anadolu Agency reporter.

The Ertuc family also lost their nine-year-old daughter, Sanem, who has since been buried in Istanbul. Nihal Ertuc's husband, İsmail, was slightly injured and their eight-year-old son Eyüp is still receiving treatment at Nancy Hospital.

Two other children, Damla Aksu and her brother Emirhan, also died in the fire. They were buried in Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey on Saturday. A 28-year-old man, who lives in the same building in Mulhouse, eastern France, was arrested after admitting having discarded a lit cigarette butt in the block's basement.