Five homeless die as cold snap hits France

Five homeless men have died of hypothermia or in a fire they had apparently lit to warm up as a cold snap hit France in the past few days, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Five homeless people have died due to the cold weather in France in December 2014. Commons Wikimedia

Two homeless men died Tuesday morning in a blaze in a condemned building in the east of Paris where they had apparently tried to lit a fire to warm up, a police source said.

On Sunday night a 50-year-old man was found in Paris in “a state of hypothermia” and had a heart attack while receiving first aid.

On Saturday a 29-year-old man was found dead in the northern city of Douai. He was found unconscious in a high school where he had sought refuge.

French authorities said both of these men had been offered emergency accommodation in the previous days but had declined the offer.

A Belgian 46-year-old was also found dead in his tent in southeastern France. French authorities said his death was due to cold but also to the fact he was heavily under the influence of alcohol.

After an unusually warm winter, France has been hit with a sudden freeze in the past few days, with the mercury dropping to minus 14C and as low as minus 22 in the mountains.