Police are investigating the cause.

The facade of the building in the 5th arrondissement collapsed, and officials said rescue workers were searching for two people who may be trapped inside. The explosion occurred near the historic Val de Grace military hospital, in one of the French capital's most upscale neighborhoods.

Firefighters at the scene of the explosion in Paris, France. Photo: XYZ

Approximately 270 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the blaze, and 70 emergency vehicles were dispatched to the scene. The fire has been brought under control but is not yet extinguished. The explosion occurred as bars and restaurants in Paris were hosting the annual citywide music festival on the summer solstice.

Florence district mayor Berthout told French television channel BFM that firefighters were searching for two people believed to have been inside the building at the time of the explosion. “The explosion was extremely violent,” she said.

A Paris police official said that among the injured, four were in critical condition. The injuries were mostly due to victims being blown away by the shockwave of the explosion.

Jema Halbert, who owns a butcher shop near the site of the explosion, said she heard a 'boom'...

"I went downstairs and saw my husband was in shock. I went outside and saw the huge fire and I said, 'That's impossible.' I called my daughter. She was crying and in shock," she recounted.

A judicial official said they are still investigating and that a gas leak may be a cause.

The renowned French filmmaker of Greek origin, Costa-Gavras, was one of the witnesses at the scene.

“There was a loud noise and the house shook,” the 90-year-old man recounted. “We thought, ‘What’s going on?’ We even thought it was thunder signaling a storm.”

Paris prosecutors said they are investigating whether the explosion stemmed from breaches of safety rules. Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said they will “determine whether there were indications of a disregard for safety rules or individual negligence that led to the explosion.”

Nunez said two adjacent buildings were "severely destabilized" by the explosion and had to be evacuated. The blast blew out several windows in the area, according to witnesses and the police chief.

Following the explosion, a student at the private school said he was in a building about 100 meters away when the blast occurred.

“I was sitting on the windowsill, and we panicked when we saw the explosion,” a student named Achille told BFM TV. “We went down the street and saw the fire. The police were very helpful and we evacuated quickly.”

Trung Kien (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/no-lon-o-paris-canh-sat-dieu-tra-nguyen-nhan-post252721.html