Two firefighters died in the explosion in a bakery in Paris. First Minister of Interior Castaner had spoken of four dead. A gas leak could be the cause of the disaster.
Two firefighters died during the explosion in a Parisian bakery. This was reported by the prosecutor, correcting earlier statements by the Interior Minister that four people had been killed in the explosion, which presumably was caused by a gas leak.
37 people were injured – ten of them seriously, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said. The situation was under control, he was shocked by the sight of the damage. 200 firefighters were on duty.
Big blast and a lot of smoke
The detonation had occurred in the morning in a bakery in the 9th arrondissement. Police and prosecutors suspect a gas leak as a cause. Originally, the fire department had been called to the bakery because of the escape of gas, said a police spokeswoman.
An employee of a hotel opposite the bakery said he had seen firefighters go to the bakery in the morning. He initially suspected a false alarm. Then suddenly there was a huge explosion, a large blast has also hit the hotel. He was just able to take cover „from a lot of smoke and glass“, „a lot of things“ had fallen on him.
Great damage in the area
Due to the explosion of the strongest windows in the area, in the bustling center of Paris, a fire broke out. There were debris on the road, the lower part of a building was devastated and on fire. Also parked cars were damaged by the explosion.
„I slept and was awakened by the shock,“ reported a local resident. „All the windows of the apartment exploded, all the open doors sprang off the hooks.To get out of the room, I had to run over the door, the children were in a panic because they did not come out of their room.“ The fire brigade finally brought the family to safety via a ladder.
Police on alert for „yellow vests“
The authorities in Paris are on alert for announced demonstrations of the „yellow vests“. Around 5,000 security forces are securing protests in the capital.
Also because of the terrorist attack in Strasbourg a month ago, there is high tension in France. On December 11, an assassin opened fire in downtown Alsace. Five people died, many more were injured.
