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.
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.
What is being reported as a gas explosion called for about 270 firefighters to arrive on the scene to battle a massive fire that erupted in Paris’ fifth arrondissement, which is also known as the city's Latin Quarter
A blast ripped through a street near Paris' historic Latin Quarter on Wednesday and rescuers were searching for two missing people feared buried under the rubble of a building that partially collapsed in the explosion.
2 people reported missing, at least 24 injured in Paris gas explosion - BFM pic.twitter.com/bfwlPKYWQm
— BNO News (@BNONews) June 21, 2023
#Explosion in #Paris. Shook my entire apartment. I hope all inside are okay, police and fireman showed up soon afterwards. Media has my permission to use if desired. pic.twitter.com/H35toQv0Sx
— Amanda (@merybrodie) June 21, 2023
The explosion tore through Rue Saint-Jacques, which runs from the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral to the Sorbonne University, in the late afternoon, injuring at least 37 people, four of whom were fighting for their lives in hospital.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that sniffer dogs had picked up a scent under the mound of masonry left strewn across Rue Saint-Jacques.
"It is possible tonight that we will find bodies or perhaps survivors," Darmanin told reporters at the scene of the blast.
The blast destroyed the facade of a building housing the Paris American Academy design school popular with foreign students.
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.
“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 Mayor Florence Berthout.
Another report adds that many of the victims’ injuries were sustained due to being lifted off their feet by the blast.
Witnesses described a deafening explosion and a giant fireball that rose several stories high.
Soldiers helped secure a safety cordon around the scene.
The Paris prosecutor's office said it was too early to say what caused the blast.
But the local deputy mayor, Edouard Civel, referred to a gas explosion in a Twitter post and witnesses told BFM TV there had been a strong smell of gas moments before the blast.
"The shop shook violently, it felt like bomb blast," said Rahman Oliur who manages a food shop a few doors down the street from the American Academy.
Bar worker Khal Ilsey said he heard a "huge explosion" before running out and seeing a violent blaze at the end of the street.
RUBBLE AND FIRE
The blast occurred at 4:55 p.m. (1455 GMT), just as workers were heading home. The area is frequented by tourists and foreign students in the early summer but there was no immediate indication that any foreigners were among the victims.
Several nearby building were evacuated. More than two hours after the explosion, first responders were still treating residents for shock. One woman fainted in the street.
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said early indications were that the blast originated inside the collapsed building. Investigators would look into whether building conditions were in breach of regulations or if an individual had acted without due care, he added.
More than 300 firefighters were involved in bringing the blazes under control.
Rue Saint-Jacques runs through the Latin Quarter - famed as the home to many expatriate and French writers, musicians and artists over the years - to the Val de Grace military hospital and is a few blocks from the popular Jardin du Luxembourg
"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 shockwave.
"A neighbour knocked on the door and told me that the fire brigade were asking us to evacuate as quickly as possible. I grabbed my laptop, my phone. I didn't even think to take get my medication."
In January 2019, a gas leak caused an explosion that killed 4 people and injured 66 in the 9th arrondissement. In April that year, a fire broke out in the Notre-Dame Cathedral, destroying much of the roof and causing other damage before it was extinguished.
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