At least 37 people were injured

The blast damaged the Rue Saint-Jacques, which runs from Notre Dame Cathedral to the Sorbonne University. The incident, which took place in the late afternoon, injured at least 37 people, four of whom are fighting for their lives in hospital. More than 300 firefighters were involved in bringing the blaze under control.

Smoke rises from the rubble of a building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France on June 21, 2023. Photo: AFP

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said sniffer dogs had detected a human scent under the rubble at the site of the blast. "Maybe tonight we will find bodies or maybe survivors," Darmanin told reporters at the scene of the blast.

The explosion occurred at 4:55 p.m. local time on Wednesday, just as commuters were returning home. The area is popular with tourists and foreign students in the early summer, but there is no information to suggest that foreigners were among the victims.

The blast destroyed the facade of a building housing the Paris American Academy design school popular with foreign students. Witnesses described a deafening explosion and a huge fireball shooting into the sky.

The Paris prosecutor's office said it was too early to say what caused the explosion. However, the local deputy mayor, Edouard Civil, mentioned a gas explosion in a post on Twitter and witnesses told BFM TV that there was a strong smell of gas before the explosion.

“The store shook violently, it felt like a bomb went off,” said Rahman Oliur, manager of a grocery store a few doors down from the American Academy. Bar employee Khal Ilsey said he heard a “big bang” before running outside and seeing the raging fire down the street.

In January 2019, a gas leak killed four people and injured 66 in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. In April of that year, a fire broke out at Notre Dame Cathedral, destroying much of the roof and causing other damage to the historic structure.

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, AFP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/no-lon-o-paris-it-nhat-37-nguoi-bi-thuong-post252683.html