The mayor of the French port city of Marseille said on Monday "there is still hope" of finding survivors after a building collapsed following an explosion. Eight people were unaccounted for after the apartment building collapsed early on Sunday in the Mediterranean city.
Two bodies have been found in the rubble of the building, which crumbled after a blast early Sunday morning, and six people are still missing.
"There is still hope, and as long as there is hope we will not stop," said mayor Benoit Payan, at the scene of the disaster.
Local prosecutor Dominique Laurens told reporters that eight people "were not responding to phone calls", saying it was impossible so far to identify the cause of the collapse.
A gas explosion was "clearly" one of the possible causes, she added.
The collapse of the building in the port city in southern France occurred around 12:40 am local time, Benoit Payan told reporters, damaging parts of the two surrounding buildings.
"(The fire) is extremely difficult to control... The firefighters are judging minute by minute how best to put out this fire because there are potentially people alive inside," Payan said.
So far, five people were injured from two residences next to the collapsed building in the central La Plaine district, he said, but the fire in the rubble was "ongoing".
🇫🇷 ALERTE INFO - Une explosion s’est produite dans un immeuble du 5e arrondissement de #Marseille. Les secours sont sur place. (📸 Guillaume Quiquerez) #Tivoli pic.twitter.com/DmLVl7NXsD
— Mediavenir (@Mediavenir) April 8, 2023
The streets around the collapsed building were cordoned off and choked with dust. Firefighters could be seen attempting to work their way through the building debris.
"We are trying to speed up the (search and rescue operations) because time is of essence," but the search dogs cannot keep up in the heat, said the commander of the Marseille marine firefighters, Lionel Mathieu.
It remains unclear how many residents were in the collapsed building, authorities said.
But rescue workers are in a race against time to evacuate damaged neighbouring buildings also at risk of collapse.
"At the moment, we are clearing the buildings next door, taking care not to endanger the people who could be beneath the rubble," the mayor said.
(Agencies)
