At least 24 horses perished in a fire early Saturday at a stud farm belonging to the former trainer of the French equestrian show-jumping team, Marcel Rozier, firefighters said.
The fire broke out at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) in one of the stables on the farm at Bois-le-Roi, near Melun, southwest of Paris.
Despite the efforts of 13 fire engines, the entire building covering 1,000 square meters (nearly 11,000 square feet) was burned to the ground and 24 of the 29 horses inside were killed.
The five surviving horses, all show-jumpers being stabled by their owners at the farm, were seriously hurt.
It was not immediately known what started the fire and there was no immediate estimate of the damage and losses.
The five-year-old building, consisting of 32 horseboxes and a ring, had no stocks of straw.
Rozier, a gold medallist at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and the French national team trainer until last October, opened his stud farm in 1979. The 10-hectare farm accommodates around 100 horses -- MELUN, France (AFP)
