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
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
Macron gives thanks to emergency services ahead of Élysée concert
“I would like to start by saying a word for those who were hit by the explosion which happened just a few hours ago in Paris,” said President Emmanuel Macron on stage as he welcomed concertgoers to a music festival at the Élysée Palace. “I want to say a word to all the victims, the families, who are living in anguish and difficulty as we [await the final outcome] and to thank once again the emergency services who mobilised.”
Recap: Police look at gas leak as possible cause of explosion
A strong explosion rocked a building in Paris' Left Bank on Wednesday, injuring at least 24 people, igniting a fire that sent smoke soaring over the French capital's monuments and prompting an evacuation of other properties, authorities said. Police were investigating suspicions that a gas leak caused the blast.
The facade of the building in the 5th arrondissement collapsed. Emergency services were searching for two people who might be trapped inside, the district's mayor said. The explosion happened near the historic Val de Grace military hospital, in one of the most upscale neighborhoods of the French capital.
Some 270 firefighters were involved in putting out the flames and 70 emergency vehicles were sent to the scene. The fire was contained Wednesday evening but not yet extinguished as Paris bars and restaurants celebrated the summer solstice with a citywide annual music festival.
AP
Interior minister raises number of injured to 37
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told reporters the number of injured had been raised to 37, including four in critical condition.
Sirens wailed as ambulances passed through the neighbourhood, but residents started to move freely again on the previously cordoned-off street, rue Saint-Jacques. Associated Press reporters said smoke had stopped pouring out of the building where the explosion occurred.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the building housed a private school, the Paris American Academy. The school was founded in 1965 and offers teaching in fashion design, interior design, fine arts and creative writing.
A Paris police official told the AP that 24 people were injured, including four in critical condition and 20 with less severe injuries. The injuries were sustained mainly when people were blown off their feet by the blast, the official said.
AP
‘I found my husband in shock'
Jema Halbert, who owns a butcher’s shop close to the explosion site, said she had gone upstairs to fetch something when the explosion occurred.
I heard a ‘boom’. ... So then I went downstairs, where I found my husband in shock, dust by the till and I thought, wait, there’s a problem. So I stepped outside and I saw big flames and I said, it’s impossible. I called my daughter. She was crying. She was shocked.
Suspicions over gas leak as cause
Edouard Civel, deputy mayor of the 5th arrondissement, attributed the explosion to a gas leak but other officials were more cautious. A judicial official said a gas explosion was one of the possible causes under investigation.
District Mayor Florence Berthout said on French TV channel BFM that firefighters were searching for two people believed to have been inside the building at the time of the blast. “The explosion was extremely violent,” she said, describing pieces of glass still falling from buildings.
AP
Renowned Greek-French filmmaker Costa-Gavras, 90, was among the witnesses to the explosion and spoke to the Associated Press.
A huge noise and the house was shaken like this ... We thought, what is going on? We thought it could be the sky (a storm). ... It’s not something to laugh about.
‘Extremely violent’ explosion rips through central Paris street
Four people seriously injured and at least two believed missing after blast in busy Latin Quarter
Shaken locals wait anxiously nearby site of explosion
Rahman Oliur was anxiously waiting at a corner of a Parisian street on Wednesday, shortly after a blast ripped through it, injuring at least 30 and blowing up the front of his bazaar.
"The shop exploded. It felt like it was a bomb, an attack," said Oliur, 27, still shaken by the explosion that he said miraculously left him unscathed. "If I had been closer to the window, I would not have made it."
He said one of his neighbours wasn’t so lucky. He saw her leave the building with her two children, blood dripping from her injured arm.
Now that they had gotten out, his main concern was knowing whether his shop, located at 282 rue Saint-Jacques, in the heart of the Latin Quarter, would be secure as authorities were blocking the perimeter while safety operations were under way.
"I’m very scared, I don’t know how I’m going to handle security for the night," he said.
Reuters
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