A large explosion in central Paris injured thirty-seven people, with four of them in critical condition and two others missing.
The blast happened in a building that housed a design school and the Catholic education system headquarters in Rue Saint-Jacques, in the fifth arrondissement of the French capital.
The explosion sent about 270 firefighters to the scene. They were able to stop the fire after two hours, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said.
The two missing are suspected to be inside the rubble.
“It’s possible that we will find dead bodies tonight, or we will find them alive,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said from the scene of the explosion.
The cause of the explosion has not been gotten. “There was no alarm sent out before the incident”, Darmanin said.
The local deputy mayor Édouard Civel said in a tweet that the blast was caused by a gas explosion.
Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor said that there are indications that the gas explosion started from within the building that houses the Paris American Academy.
Their investigation will also take into account reports from survivors. Some said they perceived the smell of gas before the explosion.
Kent State University, Ohio, has accounted for all its students at the Paris American Academy following the blast.
Authorities prevented residents around the vicinity from going inside their homes following the blast.
“It felt like an earthquake, the windows banged against each other,” one said.
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