Eight missing in Marseille building collapse, with fire rescue

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More than 100 firefighters worked against the clock to douse flames deep in the rubble to rescue up to eight people who may have been buried after an explosion and collapse of a building early Sunday in the French port city of Marseille.

“We can’t intervene in a very classical way,” Darmanin said during a site visit, about 11 hours after the five-story building collapsed just before 1 a.m. Both water and foam pose a threat to the survival of the victims.

He said he did not know if anyone was killed or what caused the explosion. Authorities later said the gas explosion was one possible line of investigation. French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts are with those affected.

Firefighters, aided by urban rescue experts, worked all night and all day Sunday in a slow race against time. The careful operation aimed to keep the firefighters safe, prevent further harm to people potentially trapped under the rubble and not harm nearby vulnerable buildings. Darmanin said about 30 buildings in the area had been evacuated.

“We heard an explosion…a very powerful explosion that made us jump, and that’s it,” said Marie Serrett, who was among the evacuees. “We looked out the window at what was happening. We saw smoke, stones and people running.”

The building that collapsed is located in a narrow street in the center of Marseille, adding to the difficulties for firefighters and rescue workers.

The intense heat made it impossible to send dog teams to search. The botnet has reportedly been deployed.

The mayor of Marseille, Benoit Bayan, said two buildings that shared walls with the collapsed building had been partially demolished before one of them later collapsed. Six people were taken to hospital.

A dog from the firefighters’ canine unit was seen sniffing out the wreckage, apparently in the nearby building that collapsed.

“We are trying to drown out the fire while ultimately preserving the lives of the victims under the rubble,” Lionel Mathieu, chief of the Marseille fire brigade, said during a televised briefing.

“Firefighters are measuring minute by minute the best way to put out a fire,” Mayor Payan said.

“We must prepare ourselves to have victims,” he said with a shrug.

Bayan said the explosion was the “probable” cause of the building’s collapse, but later stressed that “no conclusions can be drawn” without an investigation.

The collapsed building is located in an old quarter in the center of France’s second largest city. The explosion was heard in other neighborhoods. Neighboring streets are closed off.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne both tweeted their thoughts of those affected and thanks to the firefighters.

In 2018, two buildings collapsed in central Marseille, killing eight people. The interior minister said these buildings were poorly maintained – not the case with the building that collapsed on Sunday after an explosion.

Watch Euronews’ report in the video above.

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