A total of eight people are still missing after the collapse of a building in the center of Marseille last night due to an explosion, as reported by the French Prosecutor’s Office »Eight people do not answer calls and are located at 17 rue de Tivoli. One of them is located on a garden level, between numbers 15 and 17», explained the prosecutor Dominique Laurens, according to the French press.
The victims would be »people of a certain age and a young couple in their 30s,» Laurens told a press conference reported by the local newspaper »La Provence».
The prosecutor has indicated that for the moment the causes of the explosion that caused the collapse are unknown. »The expert has not yet been able to access the site because of the risk involved, as the situation has not yet stabilized. There are still very hot areas,» he explained.
A neighbor in the area reported that he heard »a big explosion» and that when he approached the area he could see »a lot of dust» and a gas »smell».
The fire has not yet been extinguished, which hinders the search for possible survivors, had previously reported the French Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, displaced to the scene of the incident.
Meanwhile, the authorities have evacuated 199 people from the adjoining houses, 99 of whom are already in the Vallier gymnasium, according to the BFMTV channel. A total of 32 buildings have been evacuated and 163 people have received medical attention.
»There is no one in danger of death,» Darmanin stressed. About thirty buildings are affected by the evictions,» he added. The flames while still active under the rubble. »We have to check the capacity we have to control it and put it out. It will probably take several more hours (…). Maybe even more,» he said.
More than a hundred firefighters continue to work to extinguish the flames in the two collapsed buildings. The numbers 15 and 17 of Tivoli street have collapsed and »the 19 also threatens to collapse», explained the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan.
On the other hand, Payan reiterated the difficulty of the operation. »We are facing an extremely rare phenomenon of persistent fire for several hours and at very high temperatures. The dogs (trained to search for survivors) are unable to look, to see, to feel what is happening,» he explained.
According to the Minister of the Interior, the building was »in very good condition» and was not being investigated, the mayor stressed. In addition, Payan pointed out that there was a »tremendous explosion».
A spokesman for Civil Security, Colonel Arnaud Wilm has reported after hours of work that »the fire is slowing down», that it is »progressively decreasing in intensity», which will allow rescuers to approach the rubble and use »robotic machines».
In addition, firefighters can now »direct water sparingly towards the heart of the chimney» thanks to this decrease in the intensity of the flames.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
