Fire in an apartment in Lugano leaves one person dead

A fire broke out shortly after 3 a.m. on Sunday in a building on Via Cortivallo, in Lugano. The flames started in an apartment on the second floor of the building, producing a thick cloud of smoke.

Officers from the cantonal police and the Lugano municipal police responded, along with firefighters and paramedics from the Croce Verde ambulance service. Firefighters put out the blaze and, once it was extinguished, ventilated the building to clear the smoke.

Body found in the apartment

Inside the apartment affected by the fire, rescuers found the lifeless body of a person. Formal identification of the victim is still underway. According to initial information from police, the victim is believed to be the apartment's tenant.

As a precaution, twenty-two tenants of the building were temporarily evacuated during the rescue operation. Six residents reported mild symptoms from smoke inhalation and were treated on site by medical staff. None of them needed to be taken to hospital.

The cause of the fire and the exact sequence of events have not yet been established. An investigation into the incident has been opened, led by public prosecutor Chiara Buzzi, who will determine how the fire started and spread.