At least six people are missing after an explosion destroyed two residential buildings in Marseille.
French rescuers have found two bodies among the rubble of buildings in the southern city of Marseille that collapsed from an explosion, the mayor says.
Judicial authorities will identify the victims, firefighters said in a statement Monday, which also noted “particular difficulties” in searching for missing residents.
Authorities previously said nine people were missing following Sunday’s explosion, which destroyed two residential buildings and partially collapsed a third. The cause of the explosion is still unknown.
Mayor Benoit Payan tweeted on Monday that “the pain and sorrow are great.” He said his thoughts went out to the families of the victims and “those who are suffering”.
“Rescue and search operations continue without interruption,” Payan said.
An excavator moves debris on April 10, 2023, a day after buildings collapsed 1 km from the old port of Marseille (Nicolas Tucat/AFP)
The mayor told French media that more than 100 firefighters were looking for at least six people trapped in a five-story residential building. “There is still hope” of finding survivors, he said.
The burning debris was too hot for dogs on the fire department’s dog team to work until Sunday afternoon, and the smoke still bothered them, a prosecutor said.
An investigation has been opened and a gas explosion is one of the possible causes, the prosecutor added.
The collapse occurred shortly before 1am on Sunday (23:00 GMT on Saturday) in an old neighborhood in the center of Marseille, France’s second-largest city. It took place less than a kilometer (half a mile) from the old harbour. About 200 people have been evacuated from their homes in the area.
In 2018, two buildings in the center of Marseille collapsed, killing eight people. That disaster cast a harsh light on the city’s housing standards, with aid groups saying 40,000 people were living in shoddy structures.
However, authorities appeared to rule out structural problems in the latest collapse on Sunday.
“There was no danger report for this building, and it is not located in a neighborhood that has been identified as substandard housing,” said Christophe Mirmand, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhone region.