A fire at a Paris apartment building housing African immigrants has killed at least 17 people, about half of them children.
French officials say some 30 others were injured in the blaze that broke out shortly after midnight in the stairwell of the dilapidated building.
Authorities say it took more than two hours for some 200 firefighters to extinguish the fire. The cause of the blaze is not yet known.
French media are reporting the victims were from African countries such as Senegal and Mali.
Officials say about 100 children and 30 adults lived in the building, which was run by a humanitarian association. In April, a fire at a Paris hotel catering to mostly African and European immigrants killed 23 people.
One of the hotel's residents admitted to accidentally starting that blaze.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
