13:50
Several collapses for forty years
In addition to the collapse in rue d’Aubagne in November 2018, which killed 8 people, Marseille has experienced several similar and deadly tragedies over the past forty years. In 1981, on January 11, 8 people died and 16 were injured in the poor neighborhood of Le Canet when their building collapsed. 5 people perished in 1985 in the accidental explosion of a building near the boulevard du Prado and, on July 20, 1996, a gas explosion blew up a seven-storey building near the Saint-Charles station, killing 4 and 26 wounded.
13:35
The smoldering fire trap
“The difficulty is that the fire is a few meters below the rubble”, commented the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. A fire under rubble, known as “smoldering”, is “a fire that cannot be reached by water lances”, describes Jean-Pierre Pic, president of the federal technical commission of the National Federation of Firefighters of France (FNSPF ). The heaps of debris must first be removed, without endangering the lives of any victims. The task of the rescuers is all the more difficult as “we must ensure that everything is secure and that there are no residual risks” before intervening, adds the firefighter.
13:20
Press conference at 6 p.m.
The public prosecutor of Marseille, Dominique Laurens, will give a press conference at 6 p.m.
13:10
A perimeter secured by a hundred police officers
The Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture reports that “more than a hundred police officers ensure the security of the perimeter of rue Tivoli”.
13:00
163 people supported
Mayor Benoit Payan explains that 32 buildings in the area have been evacuated. as a precaution. 163 people also had to be taken care of by the city services.
12:50
A gas explosion
According to our information, the preferred track is indeed that of an explosion due to the gas. The hypothesis is supported by the exploitation of video surveillance images of the street: nothing notable happens when, suddenly, the explosion and then the collapse occur. During the night, the action of the emergency services was prevented by the fire. An access route was able to be created, but without being able to act directly on the hearth of the fire. The judicial police began to question the first witnesses.
12:40
Darmanin’s pictures
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said earlier that “between four and ten people are under the rubble”. He also clarified that the fire is a few meters under the rubble. The Parisian returns in video on his intervention.
12:30
“Why does misfortune knock so often at the same door? »
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, former deputy for Marseille, in office at the time of the collapse of rue d’Aubagne, in 2018, deplores that the city is “still struck”. “Why does misfortune knock so often at the same door? »
12:02
Significant resources mobilized
“Around thirty devices were deployed, 101 marine firefighters were mobilized, as well as eight police teams,” reports Yannick Ohanessian, deputy mayor of Marseille in charge of the Battalion of Marine Firefighters and security.
11:59
Manuel Bompard salutes the work of the relief workers
“I in turn want to express my gratitude for the staff mobilized since yesterday. The intervention was extremely fast. I want to thank them and congratulate them since they have been at work for more than 10 hours now. They risked their own lives to go in search of people under the rubble, ”says the LFI deputy for the district, Manuel Bompard. “For the evacuees, the city of Marseille has made a gymnasium available and will direct people to hotels,” he adds.
11:53
Five injured, one hospitalized in shock
“Five people were injured, none of them has their vital prognosis engaged as I speak to you”, assures the PS mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan. However, he fears that there will be several victims, “we have to prepare for it”. A sixth person, “older, was hospitalized in shock,” he said.
11:48
Identification of persons residing in the current building
“The difficulty is that the fire is a few meters below the rubble. We do not know who exactly was in this building, ”says Gérald Darmanin, stressing that the police teams are currently working to identify the people living in the building. It will take several hours before the rescuers can search the rubble.
11:45
The fire prevents the intervention of the canine team
“We must protect the men, we must protect the firefighters, the dogs are unable to intervene” insists the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan, in reference to the fire which prevents the firefighters from carrying out rescue operations to come to aid to possible victims under the rubble.
11:43
“Between four and ten people under the rubble” according to Darmanin
“We will not be able to know today what caused this explosion. (…) We believe that there are between four and ten people under the rubble, which is very difficult to access. They must first be safely removed in order to intervene. We cannot intervene in a classic way, since the water should not prevent possible victims from surviving, ”explains the Minister of the Interior.
11:42
Gérald Darmanin speaks in Marseille
“Since 1 a.m., the emergency services have been fighting a fire,” greets the Minister of the Interior, on the spot.
“There were preventive evacuations, which meant that, to our knowledge, there were no additional victims. Thirty buildings were evacuated. Six people are injured, but none is between life and death, ”confirms Gérald Darmanin, taking up the provisional assessment communicated by the emergency services.
11:35
Many political figures show their support
Martine Aubry, Xavier BertrandFabien Roussel… Many politicians sent their thoughts to the inhabitants and to the emergency services after the collapse of the building on rue de Tivoli.
“I bring all my support and my gratitude to the sailors-firefighters”, assures in particular Valérie Pécresse, president LR of the Île-de-France region.
11:25
The “solidarity” of the President of the National Assembly
Yaël Braun-Pivet, the President of the National Assembly, expressed her “emotion” and expressed her “support” for the Marseillais. More specifically, she says her “solidarity with those affected and with the relief workers”.
11:20
Pictures of the drama
Rescuers looking for victims, firefighters fighting a fire, rubble… Le Parisien has compiled several photos of the scene of the tragedy in an article.
11:15
With the evacuees
“This morning, I just had time to grab my computer and some things. I hope this won’t last too long. benoît is one of the residents who were evacuated. His testimony and that of other residents who had to leave their homes can be read in our report.
11:11
The town hall launches an emergency number
“From the first minutes, the Mayor of Marseille went to the site and mobilized all the services of the City to respond to the emergency, writes the town hall in a press release. A hundred marine firefighters, as well as fifty municipal police officers worked to secure the premises, to rescue and accompany the evacuees. The Samu and all of the City’s social services are also on site,” she added, adding that a “security perimeter has been set up in the adjacent streets.” A gymnasium and two schools have been opened to accommodate evacuated families and “a psychological help cell as well as an emergency telephone line” have been created. The emergency number, which can be reached 24 hours a day, is 04 91 55 11 11.
11:10
Gerald Darmanin has arrived
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, arrived near the rue Tivoli and spoke with the services in charge of the relief. “The firefighters are fully mobilized to control the fire that has spread. Support for relief forces,” he tweeted overnight.
11:07
“Time Matters”
No list of possible missing has yet been established and firefighters are still fighting a violent fire that broke out in the rubble, hampering searches, said Vice-Admiral Lionel Mathieu, commander of the Marseille firefighters. . “Time matters,” he insisted, as the smell of smoke lingers in the neighborhood. “The objective is to control the fire to send the dogs as quickly as possible”, added Commander Laurent a little later.
11:07
Emmanuel Macron’s reaction
“Emotion with Marseille, where a building on rue Tivoli collapsed last night. I am thinking of those affected and their loved ones, the President of the Republic tweeted this Sunday morning. Research is continuing with significant resources deployed. Thank you to the firefighters and rescuers mobilized.
11:05
An open investigation
An investigation has been opened for “unintentional injuries”, the Marseille prosecutor’s office announced this Sunday morning, in order to determine the causes of the disaster. “The first elements report an explosion followed by the collapse of the building which caused part of the adjacent buildings at 15 and 19 on the same street to fall,” said its press release.
11:04
“We heard like a bomb”
After the collapse of a building rue de Tivoli, in the 5th arrondissement of Marseille, the inhabitants are sounded, while the toll could increase in the hours to come. “Everything shook, the building fell on the street,” says one of them. Our article.
11:03
What we know about this tragedy
11:02
Hello and welcome to this live
We are going to follow together the research related to the collapse, during the night, of a building in Marseille.