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Explosion Rocks Central Paris, Injuring at Least 24 People Explosion Rocks Central Paris, Injuring at Least 37 People
(about 2 hours later)
An explosion tore through an apartment building in central Paris on Wednesday, partly collapsing the structure and injuring at least 24 people, according to the French authorities. An explosion tore through an apartment building in central Paris on Wednesday, partly collapsing the structure and injuring at least 37 people, four of them critically, according to the French authorities.
The explosion, which occurred around 5 p.m. on Rue Saint-Jacques, in the Fifth Arrondissement of the French capital, projected rubble and glass into the street and started a fire that sent black smoke billowing into the sky.The explosion, which occurred around 5 p.m. on Rue Saint-Jacques, in the Fifth Arrondissement of the French capital, projected rubble and glass into the street and started a fire that sent black smoke billowing into the sky.
Four of the people injured in the blast were in critical condition, according to the Paris police. Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, told reporters more than 300 firefighters had deployed to the scene and were able to prevent the flames from spreading to neighboring buildings, which were nonetheless “destabilized” and evacuated as a precaution.
Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police prefect, told reporters more than 250 firefighters had deployed to the scene and were able to prevent the flames from spreading to neighboring buildings, which were nonetheless “seriously destabilized” and evacuated. Mr. Darmanin said rescue workers were looking through the rubble late Wednesday for two missing people, although it was unclear whether they had been in the building at the time of the blast.
Mr. Nuñez said rescue workers were looking through the rubble late Wednesday for other potential victims. The Paris prosecutor’s office said at least two people were missing. “It is therefore possible that we will find bodies overnight, or survivors,” Mr. Darmanin said.
The cause of the explosion, which rattled the neighborhood with a loud boom, was not immediately clear. The prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation. The cause of the explosion, which rattled the neighborhood with a loud boom, was not immediately clear. Videos and pictures on social media appeared to show the top of the building blown off and the street below strewn with debris. The prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation.
Some witnesses told French media that they had smelled a strong odor of gas shortly before the blast.Some witnesses told French media that they had smelled a strong odor of gas shortly before the blast.
Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, told reporters at the scene that the blast appeared to have started in the building itself, which sits on the corner of a semicircular plaza, next to the ValdeGrâce church. “Many buildings need to be inspected to see if they are weakened or not,” Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, told reporters. “A lot of windows have had their windows blown out,” she said, adding that some evacuees would have to wait before returning home.
Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, told reporters at the scene that the blast appeared to have started in the building itself, which sits on the corner of a semicircular plaza, next to the Val-de-Grâce church.
Ms. Beccuau said that investigators would try to determine whether the explosion was the result of individual negligence, noncompliance with building security rules or another cause. But the charges being considered by the prosecutor’s office — unintentional injuries — suggested foul play was not a leading theory.Ms. Beccuau said that investigators would try to determine whether the explosion was the result of individual negligence, noncompliance with building security rules or another cause. But the charges being considered by the prosecutor’s office — unintentional injuries — suggested foul play was not a leading theory.
Gilles Le Gendre, a French lawmaker who represents the area and who lives nearby, told the news channel BFMTV that there were several institutions in or near the building — including school administrative offices, a music and dance institute, and an American fashion school. Mr. Darmanin said that the building, which housed the offices of an American fashion school, was old but “did not exhibit any particular difficulties.”
Videos and pictures on social media appeared to show the top of the building blown off and the street below strewn with debris. “To our knowledge, there was no alert preceding the explosion,” Mr. Darmanin said.
Michel Denis, the head of a nearby music school, told Le Parisien that he was in a meeting in his office on the ground floor when he heard a sudden explosion, “like a bombing.”
“I was thrown back 3 meters, everything was thrown upward,” Mr. Denis said, adding that once he got outside, the street was filled with debris and panicking bystanders.
“The firefighters and police quickly arrived and evacuated us,” he said. “Thankfully it was the first day of vacation and there weren’t many people in our offices.”
The explosion came at a busy time in France: the Fête de la Musique, a national day of musical celebration where crowds around the country go to concerts or congregate outside to listen and dance to amateur street bands.
President Emmanuel Macron, who was hosting a concert that included musicians like Jon Batiste and Gregory Porter at the Élysée Palace, said that “tonight we’re celebrating music, but we’re not in the mood to party.”
“We are thinking of all those who have been hit by the explosion in Paris, of those who are missing, of the rescue forces who are at work,” he added.