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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Paris explosion: Seven critically injured after blast | Paris explosion: Seven critically injured after blast |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Watch: Footage from the scene shows thick black smoke coming from a destroyed building | Watch: Footage from the scene shows thick black smoke coming from a destroyed building |
| Watch: Footage from the scene shows thick black smoke coming from a destroyed building | Watch: Footage from the scene shows thick black smoke coming from a destroyed building |
| At least 16 people have been injured, seven of them seriously, after a large explosion in central Paris. | At least 16 people have been injured, seven of them seriously, after a large explosion in central Paris. |
| The blast took place in a building next to the Val de Grâce church in Rue Saint-Jacques in the fifth arrondissement of the French capital. | The blast took place in a building next to the Val de Grâce church in Rue Saint-Jacques in the fifth arrondissement of the French capital. |
| A building next to the church was engulfed by flames and much of it appears to have collapsed. | A building next to the church was engulfed by flames and much of it appears to have collapsed. |
| According to witnesses quoted by French media, there was a strong smell of gas before the blast. | According to witnesses quoted by French media, there was a strong smell of gas before the blast. |
| Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said after arriving at the scene that initial checks of camera footage suggested the explosion occurred within the building, Le Parisien newspaper reported. | |
| However, the authorities have said the cause of the blast has not yet been determined. | |
| The building hit by the blast housed an international design school and the headquarters of the Catholic education system. | |
| The area has been cordoned off by police and a major rescue effort is under way, amid fears that there could be more potential victims under the debris. | |
| The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, is at the scene, while Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has warned people to avoid the area. | |
| The fire that broke out as a result of the explosion had been brought under control, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters. | |
| The area where the explosion took place runs south from the Latin Quarter in Paris's Left Bank area that is popular with tourists and known for its student population. | |
| A student at Ecole des Mines on Boulevard Saint-Michel told Le Parisien: "I was in front of the Val de Grâce, I heard a huge boom and I saw a ball of fire 20 or 30m high. And the building collapsed with a huge noise. I smelled gas, but took several minutes to come to my senses." | |
| Another witness, Antoine Brouchot, told the BBC he was at home when he heard a "big explosion". | |
| "I stuck my head out of the window and looked towards Cochin [hospital], then I saw a big cloud of smoke and as I got closer, there was a building that had collapsed and for the moment, there is a fire." | |
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| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Paris | Paris |