Building collapse in France leaves two dead, 9 injured

[ShangTsung]

Building collapse in France leaves two dead, 9 injured

A local rescue official says more than 100 rescue workers, firefighters, and bomb and gas experts were deployed to the building in the subsidized housing complex that collapsed Sunday morning in the city of Reims, east of Paris.

FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A suspected gas explosion in eastern France killed at least two people and injured nine others.

By: Jamey Keaten The Associated Press, Published on Sun Apr 28 2013

PARIS—An official says an explosion at a residential building and subsequent partial collapse of the edifice has left at least two people dead and injured nine others in France’s Champagne country.

A local rescue official says more than 100 rescue workers, firefighters, and bomb and gas experts were deployed to the building in the subsidized housing complex that collapsed Sunday morning in the city of Reims, east of Paris.

Reims mayor Adeline Hazan told France’s BFM television that “a very powerful explosion” had taken place but the cause was unclear. She said the bodies of the two people killed remained under the rubble.

The rescue official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, said he couldn’t immediately confirm whether an explosion had taken place.

 

[ShangTsung]

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An apartment building collapsed after an apparent gas explosion in the northern French city of Reims, killing at least two people and injuring nine. Firefighters working at the scene reported "many casualties," AFP said.

The blast destroyed 10 apartments in the four-story building at around 11:20am local time. The area was evacuated over fears of a second explosion.There are many victims... We have very little information on the state of the victims," a firefighter told AFP, without disclosing the cause of the accident in the heart of the Champagne region.

Some are feared to be trapped in the wreckage, France 3 reported.

Images show that an entire corner of the building has collapsed.

This is the second explosion in Reims in the past month. On April 3, 4 people died in a building blast.

 

[ShangTsung]

Firemen are at work near the collapsed section of an apartment building on April 28, 2013 in Reims, eastern France,
after a suspected gas explosion killed at least two people and injured nine others. —Photo AFP

Firemen walk past the collapsed section of an apartment building on April 28, 2013 in Reims, eastern France, after a suspected gas explosion killed at least two people
and injured nine others leaving people trapped under debris, authorities said (AFP Photo / Francois Nascimbeni)

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[ShangTsung]

Firemen are at work near the collapsed section of an apartment building on April 28, 2013 in Reims, eastern France, after a suspected gas explosion
killed at least two people and injured nine others leaving people trapped under debris, authorities said (AFP Photo / Francois Nascimbeni)

AFP Photo / Francois Nascimbeni

AFP Photo / Francois Nascimbeni

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