A major fire of still unknown origin declared this Wednesday in a building in the center of Paris, part of which collapsed, seriously injuring at least 16 people, 7 of them seriously, according to police sources. The first hypotheses indicate that it could be an explosion caused by a gas leak.
“A fire is in progress in the Saint Jacques street, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. Paris firefighters have rushed to the scene. Please do not hinder them and avoid the area,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin tweeted.
The Paris City Council has activated a crisis cell to respond to this event, of which hardly any details have been disclosed. The mayoress of the French capital, Anne Hidalgo, has moved to the scene, reports the BFM TV channel.
The Police Prefecture He indicated on his Twitter account that the emergency intervention was underway in Saint Jacques street, near the Val de Grâce hospital, and asked the population to avoid the area and to let the emergency services work. “Intervention in progress rue Saint-Jacques à #Paris5. Avoid the area and allow the intervention of the emergency services and the police,” the Police Prefecture tweeted.
column of smoke
A snapshot taken by an AFP photographer showed a column of smoke and flames rising from the ruins of a building.
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According to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, “a building caught fire and partially collapsed” on Rue Saint-Jacques, near the Notre-Dame du Val-de-Grâce church, and a first provisional balance indicated that “one person was injured and burned.” “At this stage, it is not possible to determine the cause of the fire,” the prosecutor said.
On the same social network, the number two of the V district mayor’s office, Édouard Civel, specified that there had been a gas explosion in Alfonse Laveran square and that several buildings were on fire.