A four-story apartment building collapsed shortly after midnight (local time) in a central district of Marseille.
“At 00:40 a building collapsed at 17 Tivoli Street, dragging parts of neighboring buildings,” Mayor Benoit Payan, who visited the area, told reporters.
“There is still a focus of fire in the ruins, which prevents us from sending rescuers with trained dogs to search for those trapped,” he added.
??????URGENT – An explosion vient de se produire dans un immeuble rue de Tivoli a #Marseille. (??@aurelien1335) pic.twitter.com/xJmFFnIzCH
— AlertesInfos (@AlertesInfos) April 8, 2023
“We have about 100 men on the scene, the priority is obviously to put out the fire and move the debris to locate any people trapped,” a fire official said.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of neighboring buildings for safety reasons.
“Eleven people have been evacuated: two are seriously injured and nine are safe, including two children,” said the mayor of the French metropolis.
Je confirme, une explosion au gaz, rue Tivoli a Marseille, dans le cinquieme, l’immeuble a ete souffle #Marseille pic.twitter.com/cIWSqiIn6G
— naymerys (@naymerys) April 8, 2023
Police have cordoned off roads around the district, which was earlier covered by a cloud of dust.
“It sounded like a loud explosion,” a resident named Gilles, who did not give his last name, told AFP.
The causes of the collapse of the four-story apartment building have not been ascertained.
In November 2018, eight people were killed when two buildings collapsed in another district of Marseille.
Source: RES-MPE
Source: Sport Fm
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