Paris firefighters arrested after recruit 'raped'

Thirteen Paris firefighters were arrested on Wednesday after a recruit claimed he was raped in an initiation ceremony filmed with a telephone, legal officials said.

The young man, whom officials did not name, told police the incident happened on Sunday in a bus carrying a 30-strong Paris firefighter sports team back from a gymnastics competition in the eastern city of Colmar.

The Paris fire brigade declined to give details but said the affair was "particularly serious" and would be thoroughly investigated.

Media reports said the recruit was set upon in the bus, stripped, slapped and bitten on the behind. When he protested, one colleague pinned him to the ground and raped him, according to Le Parisien newspaper.