A huge fire ripped through a ski resort hotel and forced hundreds of people, including Brits, to flee the building prompting the UK Foreign Office to update its travel advice for tourists.
The blaze started at the French resort of La Plagne in Savoie in the early hours of April 9. According to initial reports from the fire department, the flames started in a container located in the basement of the MMV Plagne 2000 holiday village.
More than 90 firefighters tackled the blaze at the MMV Aime 2000 in La Plagne, which started at around 2.45am on Wednesday, according to local media. The incident left four people injured, with around 420 people, including British nationals, forced to evacuate the building. Reports suggest that more than a hundred firefighters with 46 engines and two water hoses were dispatched to the scene.
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The most recent update on the La Plagne social media platforms reads: “Over 400 evacuated. Two taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. Some people are back in to get their things. MMV is organising floor by floor. They are moving everyone to accommodation and it will be done by this afternoon. A massive thank you to everyone who showed up in some way today to help make this experience less traumatic for those involved.”
Rémy Pomeret, the deputy departmental director of the Savoie fire brigade, told france3: “The facade fire then spread to the roof. We focused our efforts on limiting the spread of the facade fire, since the infrastructure is made up of two adjacent buildings. The main risk was therefore the spread of the fire to the second building.”
This is one of the biggest fires La Plagne has ever seen. It’s impressive, but fortunately, completely contained,” said the mayor of Aime La Plagne, Corine Maironi Gonthier.
Three of the casualties were reportedly treated for smoke inhalation and were transferred to the hospital in Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Savoie). A child was also hospitalised in Albertville (Savoie) following an epileptic seizure.
French news site ‘Francinfo’ reported on the incident. They shared details about the fire which broke out during the night of April 8, into Wednesday, April 9. They reported: “The fire started at 2:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. It was still active at 8:30am and 90 Savoyard firefighters. As a precaution, 371 vacationers and 53 staff members were evacuated and taken to shelter overnight.”
The Foreign Office has shared updated travel advice for people travelling to France. The alert comes after skiers and staff were forced to flee from a hotel in La Plagne when a fire broke out in the middle of the night.
The Foreign Office has uploaded a statement to their website warning tourists planning a trip to the area, it reads: “There is an ongoing incident following a fire on April 9 in the ski resort of La Plagne, in the Alps. If you are in the area or planning to travel to the area, follow the advice of local authorities and check your tour operator’s advice. If you require consular assistance, call +33 1 44 51 31 00 and follow the options to speak to a consular officer.”
The travel body added that if you choose to travel, you should “research your destinations and get appropriate travel insurance”. Insurance should cover your itinerary, planned activities and expenses in an emergency.
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