A “very large explosion” was heard around one o’clock in the morning on Sunday, said the Minister of the Interior, a few seconds before the collapse of the building located at 17 rue de Tivoli, in Marseille.
Delicate rescue operations, which will last several days. The firefighters are hard at work, Sunday April 9, to find possible victims after the collapse of a four-storey apartment building in the center of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), on the night of Saturday to Sunday. “Eight people don’t answer calls “announced the public prosecutor of Marseille, Dominique Laurens, during a press conference. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about the disaster.
An explosion followed by the collapse of a building
It is 12:46 a.m. Sunday when an explosion “extremely violent” according to the public prosecutor of Marseille Dominique Laurens, filmed by surveillance cameras, takes place at 17 rue de Tivoli, in a district known for its cafes, restaurants and nightlife. A minute later, the building suddenly collapses.
In its fall, the four-storey building, located in a residential area on the edge of the La Plaine district, carries “a part of [bâtiments du] 15 and 19 rue de Tivoli”, said the mayor of Marseille overnight. A few hours later, in the early morning, the building at 15 rue de Tivoli also collapsed. The Marseille prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “involuntary injuries”.
“Eight people do not answer calls”
Sunday at the end of the day, “eight no one answers[ai]don’t answer calls” said the public prosecutor of Marseille. “In the building, we have more people of a certain age and a young couple” , said Dominique Laurens, questioned about the profile of these eight inhabitants of the building which collapsed in the night from Saturday to Sunday after a strong explosion. According to “elements (…) transmitted by relatives and families”there is “no children among the victims” she added.
In addition, five people, residents of nearby buildings on 17, were injured, but “none is between life and death”had previously announced the Minister of the Interior at the end of the morning.
Finally a ninth person is also wanted, reported the magistrate. ” An information [qui n’est] not confirmed” for the moment, “but a lady has no news of her ex-husband who lived on the level of 19“, she detailed.
Difficult research
Until mid-afternoon on Sunday, the searches, in particular the dog teams and their dogs, were impossible because of a major fire still in progress under the rubble. They were finally able to start at the end of the afternoon, according to the franceinfo journalist present on the spot, Jean Chamoulaud. “Iacknowledgments are essentially visual”, said the commander of the rescue operations carried out by the battalion of marine firefighters from Marseille, to France 3 Paca. THE “operations will last several days”he added.
“The work is progressing very safely so as not to endanger the emergency services.”explained the prosecutor. “As they remove the rubble, we see the smoke leave, we see that there are still hot pockets” For his part, the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, considered that the hope of finding people alive is “little”on BFMTV, “but we want to keep hope and that’s what we’re fighting for”he added.
Gas, a possible hypothesis, but not confirmed
For now, “ it is not yet possible” to determine the causes of the disaster, assured the public prosecutor of Marseille, Dominique Laurens. An explosion “extremely violent” due to gas “is part of the tracks, but as it is, we cannot say”she pointed out.
However, one hypothesis seems to be ruled out: that of the unsanitary condition of the building. ” These buildings are not targeted by danger orders, they are not unsanitary so we are looking for the causes of this explosion.“, she continued, thus confirming the information communicated by the e mayor, the prefect and the Minister of the Interior earlier in the day.
200 people evacuated as a precaution
In all, 33 buildings were evacuated and 200 people were taken care of on Sunday night, said on BFMTV, the mayor of the city, Benoît Payan. “There are 50 people left who have no alternative accommodation, the city of Marseille will relocate them to the hotel”, he specified. And to continue: “150 people have found the means to relocate with families or friends.” He also details that as of Monday evening, the municipality “go look apartment by apartment who can pick up things or who can move back in”.
An emergency number (04 91 55 11 11) has been set up “for those directly concerned” by the collapse. A family reception center was also opened at 110 boulevard de la Liberation, in the 4th arrondissement. Closed Sunday evening, it will reopen Monday morning at 7:30 a.m., said the prosecutor.