The prosecutor and the police held a press conference on Tuesday evening following the explosion which caused the death of 8 people overnight from Sunday to Monday in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque.
The public prosecutor of the Pyrénées-Orientales, Jean-David Cavaillé, indicated that at this time, “the causes of the fire are not known”. A long work inside the building “will begin this Wednesday and will make it possible to advance on the causes of the fire”.
Asked several times about the various testimonies collected in the last few hours, the prosecutor indicated that he would not make any communication on the work of the investigators but that all avenues are being explored. He confirmed that “the criminal track was privileged as much as the others” with regard to the qualification of the investigation in flagrance opened Monday for “arson causing death”.
Regarding the number of victims, the balance sheet should not change. “There were 8 wanted people and we have 8 victims. No other disappearances have been reported but only the identification of the victims will make it possible to know if there are other missing persons”.
In addition, a seriously injured person was transported to Montpellier “in stable condition”.
A press conference to relive below.