After the collapse of a building in downtown Marseille, emergency services found two dead under the rubble during the night. In view of the difficult situation, the salvage of the bodies should take some time, French media reported, citing the fire brigade. A fire several meters below the rubble made the rescue work considerably more difficult.
The four-story house on Rue Tivoli in Marseille’s fifth arrondissement collapsed on Sunday night as a result of an explosion from an unknown cause. Parts of the two neighboring houses were also torn down. A few hours later, one of the houses next to it collapsed completely.
According to the information, eight people lived in the building. According to Marseille’s prosecutor Dominique Laurens, there has been no news of them so far. People would not have answered calls. Relatives had contacted the authorities with concern. The presumably buried people are mostly older people and a couple in their 30s. Children were probably not in the building when it collapsed. A man from a neighboring house could also be under the rubble. His ex-girlfriend stated that she had not reached him after the accident. It is still unclear whether the dead are two of the eight missing.
Five people from neighboring buildings were injured in the collapse. About 30 houses were evacuated as a precaution. Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan said on Sunday evening on BFMTV that there was still hope of rescuing people alive, but it was vanishingly small. You will keep fighting.