HE collapse of a residential building Marseille (south of France) Five were seriously injured and at least eight were undisclosedWhile the emergency services continue to operate where, according to the prosecutor’s office, the situation is not yet “stabilized”.
“Eight people are not answering calls,” said Marseille prosecutor Dominique Laurens, who is investigating the incident, which is currently classified as a criminal case due to “unintentional injury”.
collapse, which It happened around 12:40 pm.It also affected the adjacent buildings.
eight missing persons residents of the affected building, however, a possible ninth missing person, a resident of the neighboring property (which has also partially collapsed), could be added to the list, although the prosecutor stated that this information still needs to be verified.
The main hypothesis is that the collapse was probably caused by an explosion. due to gas leak.
Forensic experts have not yet been able to access the site due to risks “as the situation has not yet stabilized”, according to the prosecutor.
“You have to be prepared to be there victims“Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan had drawn attention in his statements to the media earlier this Sunday.
In the morning, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin went to the region to continue the rescue work.
French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and President Emmanuel Macron also sent encouraging messages to the victims on Sunday.
“Feelings for Marseille, where a building collapsed on rue de Tivoli last night. My thoughts are with the people affected and their families. Search continues with key tools deployed. In a statement on his Twitter account, Macron thanked the firefighters and emergency service teams that mobilized.
landslide initially affected 33 residents, six of whom had to be transported to the hospital. Five were in “relative severity” as detailed by the mayor of Marseille, and another elderly person had to be hospitalized for being in shock.
Subsequently, the need to evacuate up to 32 properties in the area for security reasons, 163 left until evacuation.
Rescue missions at the site were complicated from the start by a fire in the wreckage, so officials acknowledged the work would take several hours.
Rescue dogs were only visible in the afternoon among the ruins of the building to try to find possible survivors.
The incident caused a strong uproar in Marseille. The city that already suffered from the collapse of two old buildings in 2018 and has a balance of eight deaths.
These events also unleashed a severe housing crisis resulting from the poor condition of many buildings in the city, forcing just over 4,000 residents to relocate.
On this occasion, local authorities have provided: the building was not in bad condition.