VIDEO: Two Buildings in France Collapse After Massive Explosion, Prompting Search and Rescue for 8 Missing People

Buildings collapsed after an explosion in France's Marseille
Rescuers have found two bodies in the rubble
France's buildings explosion cause remains undetermined

Two bodies were discovered in the debris of a building that collapsed in Marseille, France. Following a powerful explosion, French authorities said rescue personnel scrambled to find at least eight people early Monday.

The victims were discovered approximately twenty-four hours after the explosion, which brought down the four-story building in the Mediterranean port city.

France Buildings Collapse

Emergency workers continued rescue operations through Sunday night into the early hours of Monday with the aid of a crane and lights. Still, a persistent fire underneath the debris hampered their work, making it difficult for firefighters to deploy sniffer dogs.

Before the bodies were discovered earlier on Sunday, local prosecutor Dominique Laurens told reporters that eight individuals "were not answering their phones."

The explosion and collapse occurred at 12:40 a.m. on Sunday, causing five neighboring building occupants to suffer minor injuries. The mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, said, "The anguish and sorrow are enormous tonight."

The explosion's cause has yet to be determined, but investigators are investigating the possibility that a gas escape caused it, France24 reported. More than 100 firefighters were battling the conflagration in the ruins of the building, which was believed to have one residence on each floor.

Two buildings next to the destroyed property were significantly damaged, with one collapsing later in the day without injuring any rescuers. Nearly 200 residents have been evacuated, and fifty have requested immediate relocation.

A resource center for individuals searching for missing family members or loved ones has opened in the neighboring district. Housing Minister Olivier Klein is scheduled to visit Marseille following Sunday's visit by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Television images depicted clouds of smoke ascending from the debris as firefighters attempted to extinguish the blaze while trained dogs searched for victims. According to Al Jazeera, drones and probes have been used to search for traces of life at the scene.

The prosecutor stated that the detritus was too hot for the canine team of firefighters to work until Sunday afternoon, although the smoke continued to disturb them. At least initially, a criminal investigation has been opened for accidental injury, ignoring any potential criminal intent.

The prosecutor, Laurens, listed a gas detonation as one of the routes to inspect. However, the fire's intensity also hindered the investigation's beginning. With the assistance of urban rescue specialists, firefighters raced against time all night and all day on Sunday.

The delicate operation intended to ensure the safety of firefighters, prevent further damage to people who may have been trapped in the debris, and not compromise adjacent structures that had partially collapsed.

Laurens stated firefighters are "really in a hazardous and complicated situation." She stated that work is progressing while taking safety precautions. The location of the collapsed structure on a narrow street less than a kilometer (half a mile) from Marseille's historic old port posed numerous challenges for firefighters and rescue personnel.

Authorities Refute that Buildings are Substandard

Earlier in the day, officials estimated that four to ten persons were possibly stranded. Police have yet to confirm the purported disappearance of a ninth person who resided in a building next door.

The mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, stated that two structures that share walls with the one that collapsed were partially brought down before one subsequently collapsed, adding to the difficulty of the rescue operation.

With the aid of urban rescue experts, firefighters labored through the night and all day on Sunday in a race against time. Some 30 buildings in the area were evacuated. The prosecutor stated that the building and its neighbors are not substandard. Per Daily Mail, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne tweeted their thoughts about the persons affected and thanked the firefighters.

In 2018, eight people died in Marseille when two dilapidated structures in the working-class district of Noailles caved in. That tragedy cast a harsh light on the city's housing standards, with aid organizations saying 40,000 people were living in shoddy structures. However, authorities appeared to rule out structural issues in the latest collapse on Sunday.