Desperate search for survivors continues after building collapses following explosion in Marseille
9 April 2023, 21:01 | Updated: 10 April 2023, 01:10
Five people were injured and eight others are missing after a building collapsed in Marseille following an explosion.
It's not yet known what caused the blast, which destroyed an apartment shortly before midnight, before a neighbouring building partly collapsed a few hours later.
However, authorities have said it was likely caused by a gas leak.
Nearly 200 people were evacuated from buildings nearby.
TV footage showed smoke rising from the ruins as firefighters tackled the flames in the southern French city.
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Marseille prosecutor Dominique Laurens said a fire caused by the collapse of the buildings has hindered rescue efforts, with with the dust and heat preventing search dogs from assisting the hunt for survivors.
The five people who were injured sustained injuries described as serious but not life-threatening.
Marseille mayor Benoit Payan said it was likely that people had died.
A man who gave his name only as Roland told local paper La Provence that survivors had "lost everything".
"We have nothing, not even an ID card," he said.
He managed to escape the building at 15 Rue de Tivoli with his wife and two children before it collapsed.
Others said they heard the ground shaking and could smell gas in the air.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "Thoughts are with Marseille."
In 2018, two houses collapsed in rue d'Aubagne, about a kilometre from the blast on Sunday, killing eight people.
Mr Payan said the incident on Sunday was not caused by structural problems and as such has "nothing to do" with rue d'Aubagne.
