Twenty-six hours after the explosion of a building and the collapse of another in the center of Marseille, two remains were found in the rubble. Rescue work remains perilous and complicated.
“ Two lifeless bodies were found overnight from Sunday to Monday in the rubble of the building blown up by an explosion in Marseille, firefighters announced. ” Given the particular difficulties of intervention, the extraction (of the bodies of the site) will take time “Said the firefighters in a brief press release, confirming information from La Provence and BFMTV. ” The judicial authority can then proceed to the identification of these victims, continues the text. ” A situation report will be made in the early morning “, concludes the press release.
This discovery comes just over 24 hours after the gigantic explosion that blew up a four-storey building in Marseille. The public prosecutor of Marseille had indicated earlier on Sunday that rescuers were still looking for eight people presumed missing in the rubble.
” Tonight the sorrow and the pain are great “, reacted for his part in a press release the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan. “ We continue to do everything to carry out the relief operations “, he continued, assuring that “ all the City departments, along with the State departments, are still, at this very moment, fully committed to continuing the research “.
I am thinking first of all of the victims and of the essential mission which is to save lives […] Which will explain the explosion. It is an extremely strong intensity: the windows of the district are blown, we have iron garage doors which are completely deformed, that is to say the power of the breath of the explosion […] The intensity of the fire worries us enormously and makes us ask a lot of questions.
Benoît Payan, Mayor of Marseille
“The operations will take several days”
The cause of the initial explosion is still unknown. 17 rue de Tivoli, a building housing five apartments in a rather residential area of the city center, was completely blown up. The two adjoining buildings were badly damaged, but all their occupants were able to escape or be saved by firefighters. One of these buildings collapsed later in the day, burying the scene under even more rubble but without injuring the rescuers. The other is also threatening to collapse.
For twenty-four hours, the neighborhood has been in shock, reports our special correspondent on the spot, Lucile Gimberg. Like Andrea, Colombian, who lives close by: “ The cloud of dust and ashes reached Reformed Square… It’s a tragedy. »
The work of the firefighters is perilous: the adjoining buildings have been weakened and the fire, which caught in the wake, reactivates under the rubble.
” We have rones, equipment, we have dogs, we have trained, specialized firefighters. The rescue operations will take several days and of course, time counts », Details Lionel Mathieu directs the battalion of marine firefighters of Marseille.
A race against time. With in memory the drama of the rue d’Aubagne in 2018. Two unsanitary buildings had collapsed, killing eight people.
” People know each other between the two neighborhoods, which this echoes, notes Kevin Vacher, from the citizen collective 5 NovembreHowever, these are not the same causes. Rue d’Aubagne, we had cases of building insecurity. What is called unfit housing, very degraded housing. Here, we are in fairly maintained habitats. »
Sunday evening, rue de Tivoli, the legal expert had not been able to access the site, which was still too dangerous.
(With AFP)