JAKARTA - An explosion ripped through a street near Paris' historic Latin Quarter on Wednesday, injuring several people and rescuers are searching for two missing people who are feared buried under the rubble of partially collapsed buildings from the blast.
The explosion damaged Rue Saint-Jacques, which stretches from Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral to the Sorbonne University, in the early afternoon, injuring at least 37 people, four of whom were fighting for their lives in hospital.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said sniffer dogs had smelled it under a mound of scattered rocks on Rue Saint-Jacques.
"Maybe tonight we will find bodies or maybe survivors," Darmanin told journalists at the blast site, reported Reuters, June 22.
The explosion destroyed the facade of the American Academy Paris design school which is popular with foreign students.
Witnesses described deafening explosions and giant fireballs that rose several stories high. Soldiers helped secure a cordon around the scene.
Meanwhile, the Paris prosecutor's office said it was too early to say what caused the explosion.
However, the deputy mayor of the local town, Edouard Civel, referred to the gas explosion in a tweet and witnesses told BFM TV there was a strong smell of gas moments before the explosion.
"The store shook violently, it felt like a bomb exploded," said Rahman Oliur, who runs a deli a few doors away from the American Academy.
Bar worker Khal Ilsey said he heard a "huge bang" before running outside and seeing an intense blaze at the end of the street.
The explosion occurred at 16.55 local time, just as the workers were heading home. The area is frequented by foreign tourists and students in early summer, but there is no immediate indication that any foreigners were among the victims.
More than 300 firefighters were involved in controlling the blaze.
Several nearby buildings were evacuated. More than two hours after the explosion, first responders are still treating residents in shock. A woman fainted on the street.
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Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said early indications that the explosion had come from inside the collapsed building.
"Investigators will look at whether the condition of the building violated regulations or if someone has acted without caution," he added.
It is known, Rue Saint-Jacques passes through the Latin Quarte, renowned as the home of many expatriate and French writers, musicians, and artists over the years, to the Val de Grace military hospital and is a few blocks from the popular Jardin du Luxembourg.
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