At least five people were injured after a four-storey residential building collapsed in Marseille city in France on Sunday, as reported by the news agency AFP. The people who sustained injuries were from the surrounding structures. According to the officials, a fire was causing hindrance to the rescue workers, who were searching for the victims, AFP reported.
The building which was situated in the port city of southern France collapsed around 12:40 am (2240 GMT), the mayor of Marseille city Benoit Payan told reporters. One neighbouring building collapsed later on Sunday morning. According to Payan, the five people who got injured due to the collapse were living in the two residences next to the collapsed building in the central La Plaine district. The fire in the rubble was ongoing.
“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, as reported by AFP. "We have to be prepared to have victims in this terrible tragedy." Following the collapse, the streets around the building were cordoned off and choked with dust.
However, firefighters were 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 the essence," but the search dogs cannot keep up in the heat, said the commander of the Marseille marine firefighters, Lionel Mathieu, as quoted by AFP.
Although It is still unclear how many residents were in the collapsed building, authorities said. The 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, as quoted by AFP.
More than 30 residences in the surrounding buildings were affected due to the collapse, while five were injured. All evacuees were currently sheltering in schools and nurseries. Regional prefect Christophe Mirmand told AFP there were "strong suspicions" that an explosion caused the collapse, possibly a gas leak.
A late-night food vendor working on the street said "everything shook" during what sounded like an explosion. "We saw people running and there was smoke everywhere," said Aziz, who declined to give his last name. Gilles, who lives on a side street near the fallen building, told AFP the sound of the crash "was huge". "It sounded like an explosion," said Gilles, also declining to provide his last name.