An “extremely violent” explosion injured at least 24 people, felled a Paris building and sparked a fire as it sent masonry and glass flying in the French city’s famed Left Bank on Wednesday.
Police were investigating but suspect a gas leak as the initial cause of the blast, which occurred in the 5th arrondissement, also known as the Latin Quarter.
The fire swathed the city’s monuments in smoke, and a building façade in the district collapsed. The explosion blew out windows around the neighborhood and “seriously destabilized” two other buildings, which had to be evacuated, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said.
Emergency responders were searching for two people who were believed to be inside the building. The 24 injured included four who were in critical condition and 20 others with less severe injuries, mainly sustained when the blast blew people off their feet, a Paris official told The Associated Press.
As people frolicked at a citywide music festival marking the Summer Solstice, 270 firefighters battled the blaze, with 70 emergency vehicles on the scene.
The explosion occurred in the Paris American Academy, founded in 1965 to offer classes in fashion design, interior design, fine arts and creative writing. Nine students from Kent State University in Ohio, along with faculty and staff, had been there since June 1 for a summer fashion class but were not on site at the time of the explosion, Kent State said.
“We are thankful and relieved to know that our Kent State students are safe and accounted for,” university president Todd Diacon told the Us.Mistertruth in an emailed statement. “This incident occurred later in the day, and the students had left the building for an off-site activity. Our thoughts are with the other individuals who were injured in the explosion.”
With their classes curtailed, the students will be flying home a few days early, the school said. A similar class slated for July could be delayed or canceled.