Marseille: who are the victims rue de Tivoli?

The collapse of the building on rue de Tivoli, in Marseille, killed 6 people but 2 people are still missing. Here is what we know this Tuesday, April 11.

Of the total of eight people sought at 17 rue de Tivoli in Marseille (5th arrondissement), two are still missing, six bodies having been extracted by rescuers. The rescuers must this Tuesday carry out “research on the rooms of the apartments, closer to the road”. A press conference by the local prosecutor’s office is scheduled for 11 a.m. this Tuesday, April 11.

Dominique Laurens, Public Prosecutor of Marseilles, already indicates that “the experts appointed by the Marseilles public prosecutor’s office have been able to begin their work to identify the causes of the explosion”. Investigators reported a strong smell of gas at the time of the explosion without being able to confirm this track for the moment. The press release from the prefecture indicates that “the identification of the bodies is in progress by the police unit for the identification of victims of disasters UPIVC based in Ecully, which has been in Marseille since Sunday”. Nevertheless, Provence published a first portrait of the 8 inhabitants of this devastated building.

A retired couple lived on the ground floor of 17 rue de Tivoli: Anna, 82, and Jacky, 86, a former butcher. Their terrace allowed a family of four from the neighboring building to take refuge in the face of danger. Their neighbor, Nicole, 66, had taken advantage of her retirement to move to Marseille. She occasionally rented rooms but the prosecutor’s office does not know for the moment if the apartment was occupied in this way this weekend. Antoinietta, 89, lived on the first floor. The second floor was occupied by a young couple: Marion, 31, had just redone this apartment with Michael, a web designer. Jacques, 73, and Anne-Marie, 74, had a large duplex on the third floor. The town hall of Marseille has just made available collections of condolences in its central town hall, in the Old Port and in the town hall of the 5th arrondissement affected by the tragedy.

On the night of Saturday April 8 to Sunday April 9, at 12:40 a.m., an apartment building collapsed at 17, rue de Tivoli, in the 5th arrondissement of Marseille. A collapse caused by an explosion whose cause remains, for the time being, unknown, a gas leak is among the working hypotheses. This is an area located in the heart of the city, and known for its bars and restaurants. The fall of this building led, a few hours later, on Sunday morning, to the collapse of an adjacent building located at number 15 rue de Tivoli. The other building adjacent to 17, rue de Tivoli, located at number 19 of this same street, is also weakened. A total of 206 people were evacuated as a precaution from surrounding buildings, reports BFM TV. When the building collapsed, a fire broke out under the rubble, complicating the search for firefighters.

After the collapse of the building located at 17, rue de Tivoli in Marseille, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, “six lifeless bodies” were found in the rubble during the rescue operations, At least two people are still reported missing. Five people living in the building adjacent to 17, rue de Tivoli, located at number 15 of the same street, were also injured. The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, spoke this morning: ” There is still hope and as long as there is, we will not stop”.

The collapse of the building at 17, rue de Tivoli was caused by an explosion. “At this time, it is impossible to indicate the causes of this explosion”, indicated the prosecutor of the Republic of Marseille, Dominique Laurens, Sunday at a press conference. “The three buildings concerned are not targeted by danger orders, they are not unsanitary buildings at all,” she said, confirming information from the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan. The elected socialist thus tries to avoid any comparison with the disaster in the rue d’Aubagne which occurred in November 2018. This fall of two buildings had occurred because of the unsanitary state of buildings partly managed by the town hall of Marseille. The gas explosion “is one of the tracks” studied, said the public prosecutor, without advancing any certainty about the causes of the tragedy. The Marseille prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “unintentional injuries”, entrusted to the Territorial Directorate of the Judicial Police (DTPJ) of Marseille. “The magistrates of the prosecution of the section of the specialized poles follow up this investigation”, explains the prosecution.

Many rescue personnel (firefighters, police, public security personnel) are hard at work, while the fire prevents them from rummaging through the rubble.

The collapse of an apartment building in the center of Marseille, on the night of Saturday April 8 to this Sunday April 9, killed at least six people, whose bodies were found in the rubble during the following night and Monday.

Other buildings on the street were evacuated as a safety measure. Their residents were taken to schools on an emergency basis.