Two people have been found dead following a residential building collapsed in the French port city of Marseille. As the fire department announced on Monday night, two bodies were discovered in the rubble. In view of the difficult operation, it will take time to recover the fatalities, it said. Eight people had previously been reported missing.
In addition, five people in neighboring houses were injured in the collapse that was probably caused by a gas explosion on Sunday night. More than 180 people had to be evacuated from adjacent buildings.
The four-storey building in the center of Marseille collapsed on Sunday night at around 12:40 a.m. The streets around the collapsed building were cordoned off, and numerous emergency services were on the spot. Smoke was still rising from the rubble in the evening.