This Wednesday afternoon there was a violent explosion in the fifth arrondissement of Paris causing the partial collapse of a building. The fire, which has already been controlled, injured 24 people: four are in a state of “absolute emergency” and another 20 with minor injuries. Two people are still being searched for in the rubble.
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The fire that is already “contained” launched some 270 firefighters and 70 emergency vehicles that moved to Saint-Jacques street, in one of the busiest districts of Paris, where an explosion caused a violent fire on Wednesday 21 of June. Rescue teams search for two missing people in the rubble.
According to a provisional balance of the Paris Police (PP), at least 4 people were seriously injured and were in an “absolute emergency”, and another 20 suffered minor injuries.
Compared to the previous balance, “3 people in absolute emergency have been reclassified in relative emergency. Most of the injured were collateral victims, injured by the effect of the explosion and the various projections. The search continues,” added the Police.
About twenty people suffered minor injuries.
Starting an investigation
Although an investigation has been opened into involuntary injuries caused by a breach of a duty of care or security, the director of Police, Laurent Núñez, was “extremely prudent” about the cause of the explosion at a press conference.
“Detonations were heard, but for the moment there is nothing to determine the origin of the incident,” added the prosecutor, specifying that the Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, was going to the scene. According to the Police, at least sixteen people were injured, seven of them seriously.
According to the mayor of the fifth arrondissement, Florence Berthout, the main building affected was a fashionable private school adjoining the former Val-de-Grâce military hospital.
According to the mayor, the noise of the “huge” explosion spread “throughout the district.” The windows exploded more than 400 meters from the building, AFP confirmed.
The Paris Mayor’s Office activated its crisis command post and Anne Hidalgo went to the scene. A security perimeter has been established, an AFP journalist noted, but residents are authorized to enter a part of Val de Grâce street.
This incident, although the possibility of a gas explosion has not been confirmed, is reminiscent of the tragedy of January 12, 2019.
That day, a large explosion caused by a gas leak blew up Rue de Trévise in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, killing four people, including two firefighters, injuring 66 others and leaving some 400 homeless.
with AFP
