At least 37 people have been injured after an explosion sounded off in Paris, France, on Wednesday, rocking the city’s left bank and causing at least one building’s facade to completely collapse, APA reports citing Sputnik.
Another four people are in critical condition as a result of the explosion, with rescue workers adding that at least two people may still be trapped in the rubble, according to reports.
“It’s possible that we will find dead bodies tonight, or we will find them alive,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said from the scene of the explosion.
Darmanin, who said no alarm was sent out before the incident, added that investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the explosion.
“The explosion was extremely violent,” said District Mayor Florence Berthout.
Another report adds that many of the victims’ injuries were sustained due to being lifted off their feet by the blast.
The explosion occurred in the building of the American Academy fashion design school on Saint Jacques Street, said Darmanin. The school, which was partially destroyed in the blast, is attended by many students from the US and is located near the historic Val de Grace military hospital. The building was founded in 1965.
Kent State University, a school in the state of Ohio, said that all of their students who were at the academy are safe and accounted for, according to one report.
Officials were able to contain the fire, but have not yet been able to extinguish it, according to reports. First responders have shut down the city to address the blast, including the city's annual music festival which is used to celebrate the summer solstice.
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21.06.2023
Four people are in critical condition and two are believed to be trapped under rubble after an explosion started a blaze in central Paris. Police have said a total of 29 people have been injured, APA reports citing the Independent.
“The explosion was extremely violent,” said Florence Berthout, mayor for the fifth district of the city, where the explosion happened.
Journalist Olivier Galzi told BFM TV that he had seen the facade of a nearby building “completely collapse”. Police have urged people to avoid the area.
Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the fire was in Rue Saint-Jacques in the 5th arrondissement, close to the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Sorbonne University.
Paris police spokeswoman Loubna Atta said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports it was caused by a gas explosion.
Huge plumes of black smoke swelled into the air over the surrounding neighbourhood, but the fire has now been brought under control.
***21.51
The facade of a building in the 5th arrondissment, or district, collapsed and emergency services were working to determine if anyone was still inside, the Paris prosecutor's office said, adding that two people were missing, APA reports citing France 24.
The explosion hit a design school popular with foreign students near the historic Val de Grace military hospital, on the edge of the Latin Quarter.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters there were 24 people injured, including four in a “critical condition”. The fire was contained but not extinguished, Nunez said.
Florence Berthout, the mayor of the arrondissement, spoke of an "extremely violent" blast, describing pieces of glass still falling from buildings.
Police spokeswoman Loubna Atta said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports it was caused by a gas explosion.
Television images showed rubble from the Paris American Academy strewn across the Rue Saint-Jacques and smoke rising from at least two nearby buildings that were ablaze.
"I heard a huge explosion," local bar employee Khal Ilsey told Reuters. "And as I was leaving the restaurant, I saw flames at the end of Rue Saint-Jacques."
The blast occurred at 4:55 pm local time (1455 GMT), just as workers were heading home.
More than 200 firefighters were involved in the emergency response. TV images showed firefighters manning hoses and aiming jets of water at the blaze while a plume of thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin urged people to stay away so as not to hinder emergency workers.
Rue Saint-Jacques leads from Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Sorbonne University and the Val de Grace, a few blocks from the popular Jardin du Luxembourg.
The area is usually packed with tourists and foreign students in the early summer.
"I was at home writing... I thought it was a bomb," said art historian Monique Mosser, adding that many of the windows in her building had been blown out by the blast's shock wave.
"A neighbour knocked on the door and told me that the fire brigade were asking us to evacuate as quickly as possible," Mosser added. "I grabbed my laptop, my phone. I didn't even think to take my medication."
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