A gas explosion rocked the fifth arrondissement of Paris on Wednesday, leaving dozens injured, four critically, and two still unaccounted for.
Dubbed a “monster” explosion, the severe blast happened at the Paris American Academy building near Rue Saint Jacques, where up to 270 firefighters attended the incident.
Videos of the scene show smoke billowing from the devastated building, while witnesses described sounds of windows banging against each other like an earthquake.
The Paris American Academy, which describes itself as the “first bilingual design school” in the capital, soon reported that their students studying abroad are safe.
Deputy mayor, Édouard Civel, revealed on Twitter that the incident was caused by a gas explosion.
The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, took a visit to the area later. She offered thoughts to the victims and their famililies. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, is cutting his current trip short to head back to Paris.
An emergency response has been opened to handle the aftermath of the blast.
While the Paris prosecutor investigates the incident, it’s still unclear what caused the gas blast.