At Least 16 Killed In Airport Fire

Fire broke out in a flower shop at the Duesseldorf airport on Thursday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 100, police said.

Most of the dead were found in a waiting lounge for Air France, but others were discovered in an elevator and a restroom, said Franz-Josef Kniola, state interior minister for North RhineWestphalia.

The dead included a 24-year-old police officer assigned to the terminal, but officials said few of the other victims had been identified.

Most of the deaths were caused by inhaling poisonous fumes.

The fire appeared to have started in the terminal’s first-floor ceiling, and police said they had not ruled out repair work at the ground-floor flower shop as a cause.