Nine people were still missing - and with little hope of being found alive - after the collapse of a four-storey building in the center of Marseille during the night from Saturday to Sunday due to a strong explosion. There were five injured, none seriously.
More than a hundred firefighters, accompanied by search dogs, hurried to detect signs of life among the rubble. The work was hampered by a fire that took many hours to control. The origin of the powerful deflagration is unknown. The hypothesis of a gas leak was studied, but not confirmed. Almost 200 residents of neighboring buildings were evacuated due to the risk of their homes falling. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, went to the scene of the accident. The mayor of Marseille, the socialist Benoît Payan, warned from the first moment that they feared victims.
The center of Marseille has a bad reputation for the state of some buildings. There have been tragedies in previous years. In 2018, several buildings collapsed and eight people died. During the following months, more than 4,000 residents were evacuated from several hundred buildings considered dangerous. This time, however, the building was apparently in good condition. He was not on the City Council's blacklist.
As reported by the local newspaper La Provence, the missing are two elderly couples, a younger couple and two people who lived alone. The ninth missing person lived in a neighboring building.
It is suspected that the explosion took place on the ground floor, and this caused the collapse of the entire structure. The seven meter height of the rubble made the firemen's task very difficult.
The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who has never hidden that Marseille is his favorite French city, published a tweet in which he expressed his solidarity with the victims and thanked the relief teams.
