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As it happenedended1687446393

Paris explosion: One person still feared buried in rubble after blast at fashion school injures dozens

Gas leak speculated as a possible cause of explosion

Oliver O'Connell,Shweta Sharma
Thursday 22 June 2023 16:06 BST
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Paris gas explosion: At least 24 injured

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One person is still missing and four are in critical condition after dozens were injured in a powerful explosion in a building in central Paris.

The explosion at around 4:55pm local time on Wednesday at the Paris American Academy on Rue Saint-Jacques left 37 people injured.

The blast sparked a fire that sent smoke soaring over the French capital’s monuments and prompted an evacuation of other properties, authorities said.

Officials are exploring a possible gas leak as the explosion but Paris police spokesperson 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 was quickly brought under control.

“The explosion was extremely violent,” said Florence Berthout, mayor of the fifth arrondissement of the city, where the explosion happened.

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Recap: Almost 30 injured in explosion in central Paris

A blast ripped through a street in the busy Latin Quarter of central Paris on Wednesday, injuring about 30 people, starting fires, and collapsing the facade of a building housing a design school popular with foreign students.

Rescue workers were searching for two missing people feared buried under rubble, authorities said.

Witnesses described a deafening explosion and a giant fireball that rose several stories high on the Rue Saint-Jacques, in the 5th arrondissement not far from the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral and Luxembourg Gardens.

Rubble from the building in which the Paris American Academy is located lay strewn across the street.

At least 29 people were injured, including four who are in critical condition, police said.

Soldiers helped secure a safety perimeter around the scene.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said it was too early to say what caused the blast.

Reuters

Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 19:22
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The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, is at the scene and the area has been cordoned off.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has warned people to avoid the area.

The neighbourhood in which the explosion occurred runs south from the Latin Quarter in Paris’s Left Bank. It is popular with tourists and is known for its student population.

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 Paris American Academy believed to have been at the centre of the explosion.

Bar worker Khal Ilsey said he heard a “huge explosion” before running outside and seeing a violent blaze at the end of the street.

Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 19:35
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The blast occurred at 4.55pm local time, 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 foreigners were among the missing or wounded.

Several nearby buildings were evacuated. More than two hours after the explosion, first aiders 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 building. Investigators would look into whether building conditions were in breach of regulations or if an individual had acted without due care.

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.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said later that the blaze had been brought under control.

Reuters

Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 19:50
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Smoke billows from the rubble of the building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris on 21 June 2023
Smoke billows from the rubble of the building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris on 21 June 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 20:00
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Witness says design school frequented by American students

The Times reports witness, Nathan Gomot, a waiter at a nearby cocktail bar saying: “It was an ordinary day. We were preparing for the [national] music festival this evening when we felt an enormous explosion. We looked out and saw debris all over the place. The façade of the building had fallen into the street and the block of flats opposite had also caught fire.”

He added that the design school was frequented by “Americans who come to learn about French fashion. We often serve them in this bar. When I see the state of the building, it is worrying.”

Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 20:10
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Smoke from the explosion curled up into the sky over the landmarks of Paris
Smoke from the explosion curled up into the sky over the landmarks of Paris (via REUTERS)
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 20:20
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‘Everything shook. The windows exploded'

Le Parisien has compiled a number of witness accounts that we have translated here:

Quentin, a student at the Ecole des Mines on the Boulevard Saint-Michel, was in front of the Val-de-Grâce at the time of the events.

“I heard a boom and I saw a ball of fire 20 or 30 metres high,” he says. “Then the building collapsed with a huge noise.”

The explosion was so strong, explains an employee of Catholic Education, whose headquarters is nearby, that she “felt it in (her) body almost like in a film”.

“I felt a big blast, like a shock wave,” says Loris, who works at Le Puzzle bar, about twenty metres from the scene of the disaster. “Everything shook. The windows exploded, the manholes rose. The building collapsed, everyone started running. The building opposite also caught fire.”

What followed the explosion was chaos says Maïa, 13, who was taking part in a karate class next door to the blast: “The fire alarm went off in the building and the teacher asked us to leave the premises. We didn't know what was going on, there was a bit of panic. On leaving, we saw the flames rising very high, around ten metres.”

Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 20:30
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Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, arrives at the site of the explosion
Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, arrives at the site of the explosion (REUTERS)
Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 20:40
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The Guardian reports another witness account from Alexandra, a local pharmacist. She said: “We heard an incredible, very loud explosion at around 5pm, we felt the force of it. We thought this isn’t a storm, this is serious. We heard the fire services. I went out to see if I could help. But it’s all shut-off. There are large numbers of fire services and emergency services. It’s atrocious.”

Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 20:50
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Where did the explosion occur?

Rue Saint-Jacques in the 5th arrondissement of central Paris leads from the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral to the Sorbonne University and the Val de Grace military hospital and is a few blocks from the popular Jardin du Luxembourg.

The Latin Quarter is famed as the home to many expatriate and French writers, musicians and other artists over the years.

Oliver O'Connell21 June 2023 21:00

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