22 wounded in apartment building blaze in southwestern France

PARIS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A fire in an apartment building in the southwestern French city of Toulouse injured 22 people overnight, two in critical condition, a regional radio station reported Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 2:40 a.m. local time (0140 GMT) on the bottom floor of a four-story building which is more than 100 years old, the France Bleu Occitanie radio reported.

The blaze had "spread very quickly with great violence," causing the partial collapse of the building, according to the report.

Scores of the building's residents were immediately evacuated as well as those at adjacent hotels as a precautionary measure.

Over 110 firefighters battled the fire, the cause of which has not been identified yet.