One child killed as four-storey block in Paris suburb collapses
French firefighters search through the rubble of a four-storey residential building that collapsed following a blast in Rosny-sous-Bois in the eastern suburbs of Paris on Aug 31, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP
French rescue workers and firefighters inspect the site where a four-storey residential building collapsed following a blast in Rosny-sous-Bois in the eastern suburbs of Paris on Aug 31, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP
PARIS (Reuters) - A four-storey building was rocked by an explosion and collapsed, killing a child, in a north-eastern suburb of Paris on Sunday morning, the French authorities said.
Ten people, including four seriously wounded, were evacuated from the rubble of the building, and a child was killed, fire department spokesman Gabriel Plus told iTele. The explosion occurred around 7am local time.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who arrived on site, said it appeared the explosion occurred because of a gas leak, but said he could not confirm that theory. "We should be prudent, because there are investigations on-going. There is no certainty," he told reporters.
About another ten people could still be underneath the rubble, and an emergency rescue procedure was ongoing, Mr Plus said. "We could still find living victims in the hours to come." Television images of the building in the suburb of Rosny-Sous-Bois showed one side ripped off completely, exposing the interiors of the apartments inside.
