Seven die in fire at French horseriding centre

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin yesterday visited the scene of a violent blaze at a horse-riding centre in the Alps where at least six teenagers and an instructor died overnight.

A young woman was also seriously injured and two other people were reported missing after fire struck the centre in Lescheraines in the Savoie region, a local government spokeswoman said.

The victims, aged between 13 and 15, were on a one-week riding holiday and were asleep when the fire occurred. The blaze destroyed the upper floor of the centre and took firemen more than two hours to bring under control.

In a statement released by his office, President Jacques Chirac called the deaths a "misfortune which deeply moves all the French".