ALBAWABA - Five people were injured after a building collapsed in France. The collapse was followed by a fire that hampered the efforts of rescue workers in their search for possible victims.
A four-story building collapsed in the La Plaine district of central Marseille, in southern France, on Saturday night, damaging parts of two surrounding buildings, according to the city's mayor, Benoit Payne.
#Marseille | Les recherches dans les décombres ont été immédiatement déclenchées pour extraire d’éventuelles victimes & procéder aux « levées de doute » avec des équipes Unité de sauvetage et de recherche USAR (urban search ans rescue). Des actions d’extinction sont aussi menées. pic.twitter.com/0YdBOEhuPw
— Pompiers de France (@PompiersFR) April 9, 2023
The mayor said that a fire broke out in the rubble of the building, and "prevented us from sending dogs and teams to search for possible victims under the rubble."
"Five injured people were evacuated from two neighboring buildings affected by the collapse", he added.
The causes of the collapse and fire are still unknown until now, amid suspicions that an explosion or a gas leak caused it.
More than 100 firefighters, rescuers, police and public security personnel are present in the site to extinguish the fire and remove debris. In the meantime, an investigation was opened to find out the cause of the collapse.
JUST IN - Building collapse that sounded like a huge explosion reported in the southern French port city of Marseille
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 9, 2023
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It is still possible that there will be other victims, while no census was made of the people who were present in the collapsed building.
Other buildings on the street were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Their residents were transferred to a school that was then converted into a shelter center for this purpose.
Forty thousand people live in the slums of the French city, according to NGOs. In November 2018, eight people were killed in the collapse of two buildings in another area of Marseille.
