A large explosion - due to a gas leak, according to the first indications - occurred this Wednesday in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, near the Luxembourg Garden. The facade of a building has collapsed onto the street. The provisional balance is 29 injured, four of them seriously, and two missing persons.
According to the first deputy of the 5th district town hall, Édouard Civel, the gas could be the origin of the explosion, since some eyewitnesses noticed a strong stench of the gas itself. Several neighboring buildings caught fire. Numerous fire departments have moved to the area, which has been cordoned off. 70 debris removal vehicles and teams have been sent. The capital's police prefect, Laurent Nunez, has said that the main source of the fire could be controlled, preventing its spread, but that some buildings affected by the shock wave are destabilized and their occupants, therefore, cannot return.
The event took place in the Alfonse-Laveran square, in the Val de Grâce neighborhood, next to a French-American artistic school, the Paris American Academy, very close to the Pantheon and the Luxembourg Garden. This area of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, is very popular with tourists. The school was founded in 1965 and offers courses in fashion design, interior design, creative writing and other artistic disciplines. Nearby is also a Catholic school and a military hospital.
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, has spoken on Twitter regarding what happened: "A fire is taking place on rue Saint-Jacques, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. The Paris firefighters are involved." "Please do not interfere with his intervention and avoid the area," he requested. The mayoress of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has addressed the place. The soldiers of the anti-terrorist operation who always patrol Paris have been mobilized to protect the area and allow relief teams to work.
