Police investigators are still trying to find the cause of a strong explosion that ignited a blaze in central Paris on Wednesday and prompted the evacuation of buildings in the area. Officials said at least 37 people were injured, four of them critically, while two more were missing Wednesday evening.
The explosion hit a design school popular with foreign students in the French capital's fifth district on the edge of the Latin Quarter, causing the building to collapse.
Rescue workers were in the evening still searching the rubble for two missing people who had not been accounted for, according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
He told reporters at the scene that four seriously injured victims were in critical condition, while 33 others had sustained lesser injuries.
'Violent' blast
Florence Berthout, the mayor of the arrondissement, spoke of an "extremely violent" blast, describing pieces of glass still falling from buildings.
Police spokesperson Loubna Atta said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports it was caused by a gas explosion.
Television images showed rubble from the Paris American Academy strewn across the Rue Saint-Jacques and smoke rising from at least two nearby buildings that were ablaze.
The blast occurred at 4:55 pm local just as people were heading home from work. Some 70 fire trucks and 270 firefighters were involved in the emergency response.
Rue Saint-Jacques leads from Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Sorbonne University and the Val de Grace, a few blocks from the popular Jardin du Luxembourg.
(with AFP)
