Darmanin: «It is not yet known what caused the explosion». The mayor: “Currently 33 people involved, six injured”. The search for the missing made difficult by the flames.
A four-story building collapsed in the night between Saturday and Sunday, around 12.40am, in the center of Marseille, at 17 rue de Tivoli, in the fifth arrondissementcausing the partial collapse of the buildings at numbers 15 and 19. The emergency services are on the spot and there are at least five injured, according to initial information, which would be some residents of nearby buildings.
Witnesses speak of a strong explosion that brought down the entire building. “There was a huge explosion,” he told theAfp Gilles, who lives on a street perpendicular to that of the collapsed building. «There are strong suspicions that an explosion caused the collapse.”confirmed the regional prefect Christophe Mirmand, adding that gas could be “a possible option”.
«Up to 12 people under the rubble»
Gerald Darmanin, French interior minister, who arrived in Marseille around 10.45, announced that under the rubble of the building there could be «between 4 and 12 people. About thirty buildings have been evacuated in all. But it is not yet known, at the moment, what caused the explosion». The minister went right to the site of the collapse in rue de Tivoli, in an old district of France’s second city.
The streets around the building are cordoned off. The security perimeter is large due to the risk of collapse of the surrounding buildings. The rubble has invaded the road and the authorities recommend avoiding the area so as not to hinder the rescue work.
At the moment there are no reports of victims. But after the collapse a fire broke out under the rubble that the firefighters are putting out. The flames prevent the search for any victims. “We must prepare to have victims in this terrible tragedy,” Mayor Benoit Payan explained to reporters on the spot, specifying that the fire “is still ongoing and is extremely difficult to control. Firefighters are judging minute by minute how best to put out this fire because there are potentially people alive inside.” “Currently 33 people have been involved” by the collapse and of these “six have been hospitalized”the mayor said.
? EXPLOSION IN MARSEILLE – A fire is smoldering under the rubble of the collapsed building on rue de Tivoli. No human toll yet. (? FR3 Provence) #Marseille pic.twitter.com/l929UOJNhN
— FOCUS (@FocusFR_) April 9, 2023
The adjacent buildings have been evacuated as a safety measure: “Eleven people have been evacuated.”
Explosion in a building on rue Tivoli in #Marseille pic.twitter.com/2lqopHIBJu
— Aurelien Bourneuf (@Aurelien1335) April 8, 2023
In November 2018, the collapse of the two buildings in rue d’Aubagne, in the heart of the Noailles working-class district, another district in central Marseilles, had killed eight people. These buildings were in serious conditions of decay.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has expressed his closeness to Marseille and the population. “I think of those affected and their loved ones,” wrote the heads of state on Twitter. «The searches are continuing with significant resources deployed. Thanks to the firefighters and the mobilized emergency services,” he added.
April 9, 2023 (change April 9, 2023 | 12:20)
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