Two bodies found after Marseille building destroyed in explosion

Two bodies were found in a four-story apartment building explosion in Marseille, southern France.

Local officials said six people remained missing and rescue efforts were underway.

An explosion occurred in the La Plaine district at 00:49 local time on Sunday (23:49 BST on Saturday).

The cause remains unknown, but investigators are investigating a possible gas leak.

Five people in a nearby building were slightly injured in the explosion, and about 200 people had to evacuate their homes. Two of his blocks nearby partially collapsed after a few hours, but suffered no further injuries.

About 100 firefighters joined the scene and worked on the blaze that burned under the rubble throughout Sunday.

The fire has hampered progress and made it difficult for rescuers to deploy sniffer dogs, but officials said Sunday night the blaze was showing signs of abating.

The building is believed to have had one apartment on each floor, and city officials previously said the missing persons included a “young couple.”

With the help of cranes and lights, rescue efforts continued into the early hours of Monday.

In a brief statement announcing the discovery of the body, the fire department said, “Given the difficulty of intervention, the extraction [of the bodies from the site] It takes time”.

A local gymnasium and two schools were opened to accommodate those who had to leave their homes. Emotional support is also provided.

French President Emmanuel Macron thanked emergency workers for their efforts, saying on Twitter: “My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones.”

Marseille mayor Benoît Payan said rescuers were “determined” to find someone alive. “Hope must sustain us,” he said.

A local resident told French media that he had heard an explosion that was “never heard before”.

“I was asleep and there was a huge blast that shook the room. I woke up in shock like I was in a dream,” Saveria Mosnier, who lives nearby, told AFP news agency. Told.

“Immediately there was a strong smell of gas. I could still smell it this morning,” she added.

“Some witnesses came to us this morning and said they had a suspicious smell of gas,” deputy mayor Yannick Ohanesian told reporters at the scene.

Interior Minister Gerard Dalmannin will visit the site on Sunday, while Housing Minister Olivier Klein will visit on Monday.

In 2018, Marseille’s housing standards came under scrutiny after eight people died in the collapse of two dilapidated buildings in Noailles’ working-class neighborhood.

After that incident, the charity estimated that 40,000 people in the city were living in poor housing, but on Sunday officials appeared to rule out structural problems as the cause of the latest collapse.

Christophe Milmande, head of the local government for the Bouches-du-Rhône region, said the building had no hazard notices and was not in an area identified as having substandard housing. repeated by