A building collapsed in central Marseille early Sunday, injuring at least five people, while a fire prevented emergency teams from searching for other possible victims, local authorities said.
“Tonight at 0.40 a.m., a building at 17 rue Tivoli collapsed, causing part of (buildings) 15 and 19 on rue Tivoli to collapse,” said Benoît Payan, mayor of the southern French port city.
“We must be prepared for casualties in this terrible tragedy,” Payan said while commenting on the collapse of the fourstory building.
He announced the balance of five injuries so far.
The mayor said the fire “remains active and is extremely difficult to control.” “Firefighters are thinking every minute how best to put out this fire because there may be people living in it,” he said.
suspected explosion
“There is a strong suspicion that an explosion caused the collapse,” regional mayor Christophe Mirmand told AFP, who sees gas as a “possible option” as the cause of the tragedy.
The streets around the building have been cordoned off and rescue workers are on site.
“It was huge, like an explosion,” Gilles, who preferred not to reveal his last name and lives on a street near the collapsed building, told AFP.
The collapse of two buildings on rue Aubagne, also in central Marseille, in November 2018 claimed eight lives. The buildings were in a serious unsanitary condition.