2023-06-22 15:30:09
The collapsed building of the Paris American Academy, a design and fashion school, in front of which rubble is piling up. E THEPAULT / AP
The search continued, Thursday, June 22, to find a person still missing in the rubble of a building in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, destroyed on Wednesday by a very strong explosion of undetermined origin which left six seriously injured.
“The intermediate death toll at 9 a.m. was six victims in absolute emergency, and still around fifty victims in total”the Paris prosecutor’s office announced on Thursday, stressing that “These figures were always subject to change”. Among these fifty people, some are injured, others say “involved”, that is to say affected to more or less direct degrees. The increase in the number is explained in particular by the fact that these people continue to report themselves.
Read the story: Article reserved for our subscribers Explosion in the 5th arrondissement of Paris: “A big boom in the chest”
Among the two people who were sought under the rubble, one turned out to have already been taken care of at the hospital. Research continues for the second.
The facts occurred Wednesday shortly before 5 p.m., rue Saint-Jacques. An explosion followed by a fire caused the collapse of a 17th century building. This historical monument, a pavilion bordering the main courtyard of the former Val-de-Grâce abbey, housed the Paris American Academy, a private fashion school. According to a student’s mother speaking on the school’s Facebook page, there were no students in the school’s classrooms on Wednesday because they were attending a fashion week show in Paris .
“The balance sheet could have been heavier” if classes had taken place, noted the first deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, on Franceinfo.
The collapsed building of the Paris American Academy, a design and fashion school, in front of which rubble is piling up. E THEPAULT / AP
The reception unit, open Wednesday at the end of the day at the town hall of the 5th arrondissement, with the support of city services and social landlords (Paris Habitat and RIVP), continued Thursday to provide care for victims. and affected residents, according to a press release from the Paris City Hall on Thursday. After having relocated “ten people without accommodation” last night, and who requested it, in structures in the city or in hotels, “the City of Paris will continue to provide this care for the next nights”, the statement said. Forty people were also taken care of by the city’s medico-psychological emergency unit, which maintained this aid system on Thursday.
“Explosion of an unimaginable force”
On site, the security perimeter has been greatly reduced. The firefighters authorized a few residents under escort to pick up personal effects.
Barricades placed on rue Saint-Jacques, in front of the student residence of the Maison des Mines, kept onlookers and journalists at a distance from the collapsed building, in front of which rubble was piling up.
Damage is to be deplored in a wide area. Several witnesses and residents, interviewed by Agence France-Presse, said they smelled gas and heard a « grosse explosion ». “One of my collaborators smelled strongly of gas and went to see what was happening under the porch”told Thursday morning on RMC Philippe Delorme, secretary general of Catholic education, whose premises are in the immediate vicinity of the collapsed building. “When the accountant dialed the phone number” the gas supplier’s emergency service, “the explosion took place”he continued.
Director of the Schola Cantorum, a nearby college of music, Michel Denis describes “an apocalyptic war scene”with “the ground that shook”, “shattered windows” et “a blast of unimaginable force”. “Thank goodness it was the first day of vacation, so there were very few students there”noted this man.
The collapsed building of the Paris American Academy, a design and fashion school, in front of which rubble is piling up. E THEPAULT / AP
The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “involuntary injuries by manifestly deliberate violation of an obligation of prudence or security”. THE “first elements (…) lead us to confirm that this explosion originated from the building”declared on the spot the prosecutor of the Republic of Paris, Laure Beccuau. “We are obviously counting on the victims in relative urgency to give us the first elements of investigation and understanding of what may have happened”she added.
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The Paris judicial police have been seized. Some 270 firefighters and 70 vehicles were deployed to the scene on Wednesday afternoon. The firefighters have “prevented the spread of the fire to two adjoining buildings which were seriously destabilized by the explosion” et “were evacuated”said the prefect of police, Laurent Nuñez, at the start of the evening.
The gas has been cut in a wide area. “About 700 homes and a student residence” had been deprived of it since Wednesday evening, “their supply has been cut for security reasons”indicated the distributor GRDF, emphasizing that“we can’t make a case” on the cause of the accident.
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