(ANSA) – MARSEILLE (FRANCE), APRIL 09 – A four-storey apartment building collapsed in the night in the center of Marseille and a fire prevents rescuers from going in search of possible victims. This was announced by the mayor of the second French city, Benoît Payan.
“Around 00:40 a building in rue de Tivoli collapsed, causing part” of the two adjacent buildings to fall, explained Payan, adding that “there is currently a fire in the rubble which prevents the dogs and teams from being sent looking for the possible victims that may be underneath”. Firefighters operating in the area have not yet been able to take a census of people who may have been in the building at the time of the collapse. “We have a hundred men in action: the priority is obviously to put out the fire and clear the rubble to look for people who may have been trapped,” said Fire Vice Admiral Lionel Matthew. “The cause of the collapse is not yet determined,” police, firefighters and city hall officials said. The buildings adjacent to the one that came have already been evacuated, as a safety measure. “Eleven people have been evacuated: two are in relative emergency, while another nine including two children are unharmed,” said the mayor of Marseille. The streets around the building, in the La Plaine district, are cordoned off by the security forces. “It was like a huge explosion,” a witness said.
The collapse in rue d’Aubagne of two buildings in another district of central Marseille, Noailles, in November 2018 killed eight people. They were buildings that were in serious unsanitary conditions, in a city where NGOs estimate that 40,000 people live in slums. (HANDLE).
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