France: 4 bodies found, 4 missing after Marseille building collapse
- Investigators are looking at possibility explosion was caused by a gas leak; 30 buildings were evacuated
- Fire has complicated rescue efforts, with intense heat preventing search dogs from picking through rubble
Rescuers on Monday recovered a fourth body from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in France’s Marseille, a cabinet minister said, as firefighters raced against the clock to find four people still missing.
More than 24 hours after a suspected explosion at the building, where residents reported a strong smell of gas, dozens of civil defence staff and sniffer dogs worked among the debris as a fire still smouldered.
“Four bodies have been found,” Housing Minister Olivier Klein said, at the site of the accident.
The deputy mayor of the Mediterranean port city, Yannick Ohanessian, said rescuers still had hope of finding survivors.
“Until the very end, we will believe it is possible, even if chances become slimmer with every passing hour,” he said.
Lionel Mathieu, the commander of the city’s fire department, said his team was waging a “battle against time”.
“The fire has not reached all parts (of the building), so there is hope,” he said.
A fire at the site has made it hard for dogs to detect more victims or survivors.
Five people in a neighbouring building sustained minor injuries in the blast and collapse, which occurred around 12:40am on Sunday (2240 GMT Saturday).
The cause of the explosion is still to be determined, but investigators are looking at the possibility it was the result of a gas leak.
Saveria Mosnier, who lives on a street near the site in the La Plaine neighbourhood, said she was sleeping when a “huge blast … shook the room”.
“I was shocked awake as if I had been dreaming,” she said. “We very quickly smelled a strong gas odour that hung around, we could still smell it this morning.”
Ohanessian, the deputy mayor, said several witnesses had reported “a suspicious smell of gas”.
Two buildings next to the destroyed property were severely damaged, with one collapsing later in the day without injuring any rescuers.
Almost 200 residents were evacuated from surrounding buildings.
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Television footage showed clouds of smoke rising from the rubble as firefighters tried to put out the fire.
“We have nothing, not even an ID card. We have lost everything,” said a man who gave his name only as Roland, in an interview with a local newspaper.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who visited the site, said 30 buildings in the area were evacuated.
In 2018, around 1km from the tragedy, three buildings considered not fit for habitation collapsed, killing eight people.
The tragedy cast a harsh light on the city’s housing standards, with aid groups saying 40,000 people live in shoddy structures.
The mayor of Marseille said a parallel could not be drawn, while the prosecutor said the buildings that collapsed on Sunday were not known to have any structural problems.
“There was no danger notice for this building, and it is not in a neighbourhood identified as having substandard housing,” said Christophe Mirmand, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhone region.
“A lot of families in the neighbourhood are afraid,” said Arnaud Dupleix, the president of a parents’ association at the nearby Tivoli primary school, who sprang into action to coordinate aid for those evacuated.
