More fear than harm ? A building collapsed on Saturday morning in downtown Lille, without causing any casualties, the building having been evacuated overnight as a precaution, the mayor of the city, Martine Aubry, told AFP.
“A youth came home at 3:00 a.m. and found that the wall (of the building) was warped,” she said. He then warned the municipal police and firefighters, who decided to evacuate the building, considering “that there was a real risk”.
” I got the fright of my life “
The building collapsed in the early morning, in a central shopping street in Lille, but before the stores opened. The surrounding buildings were also evacuated, said the mayor of the city.
Firefighters are deployed to clear the rubble, accompanied by police who secured the perimeter, AFP journalists noted. The firefighters were still on “reconnaissance” in order to find “possible victims”, they said. SAMU ambulances were also on the scene.
“We heard a noise for a few seconds, very gently at first. We thought it was the scaffolding that was falling,” said Ludovic Ficher, who works in an adjoining building. “When we realized that it was the whole building that was collapsing, we all ran away,” he added. ” I got the fright of my life. »