At least 37 people were injured, four critically, after a gas explosion sparked a fire in several buildings in Paris's Latin Quarter on Wednesday evening. The blast occurred in the fifth arrondissement at around 5pm local time, causing the facade of a building to collapse and flames to spread to neighbouring properties.
Police urged the public to avoid the Val-de-Grâce area, near the Panthéon and Luxembourg Gardens, as emergency services responded. Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police chief, said the explosion took place at 277 Rue Saint-Jacques, a building housing the Paris American Academy, a bilingual fashion and design school.
Witnesses described a powerful blast. One man told France Info: “It was shocking. It’s a disaster.” Alexandra, a local pharmacist, said: “We heard an incredible, very loud explosion … we felt the force of it. It’s atrocious.” Some reported a large plume of smoke rising above the neighbourhood.
Around 70 fire trucks and 270 firefighters battled the blaze, which was brought under control by 6.45pm. Rescue workers continued searching the area. The Paris prosecutor opened an investigation into aggravated involuntary injury, examining whether safety rules were violated.
The area, typically busy with tourists and students in early summer, was cordoned off. Eyewitness Costa-Gavras, the filmmaker, said: “A huge noise and the house was shaken … We thought, what is going on?”
