04/09/2023 06:43 (act. 04/09/2023 06:50)
A residential building collapsed in the center of the French port city of Marseille late on Sunday. A fire prevents rescue teams from looking for possible victims in the rubble, said mayor Benoît Payan. The two adjacent buildings were also damaged. A gas explosion may have caused the collapse, the region’s mayor Christophe Mirmand told the AFP news agency.
The streets around the collapsed building were cordoned off. Several emergency services were on site. According to Payans, eleven residents were evacuated from the two houses next to the collapsed building. There are two wounded. As a precaution, other houses on the street were also evacuated. Emergency accommodation was set up in a school for residents.
In November 2018, eight people died when two buildings collapsed in Marseille. Both houses were in dire need of renovation.