Paris Gas Blast Toll Rises To 4 As Body Found In Rubble

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Jan, 2019 ) :The death toll from a powerful gas explosion in central Paris has risen to four after rescue workers found a woman's body in the rubble, investigators said Sunday.

Two firefighters and a Spanish tourist were also killed in the Saturday morning blast that injured dozens and badly damaged nearby apartments.

Rescue workers with sniffer dogs had earlier searched for a missing woman who lived above the explosion site and who was believed to be in the rubble.

A source close to the investigation said the body could be that of the missing woman.

The blast gutted the lower part of the building which housed a bakery and a restaurant, and also overturned cars, leaving glass and rubble strewn across large swathes of the street.

Around 50 people were injured, nine of them seriously, including several foreign tourists who were in the area to visit local attractions like the Musee Grevin wax museum and the popular Rue des Martyrs.

A fire service spokesman said 40 firefighters were clearing the debris by hand on Sunday due to the dangerous conditions.

"We will only leave once everything is cleared, stone by stone, to be certain there is no one else," he said, indicating that such an operation could last for about a week.

Given the extent of the damage, around 50 people were put up in temporary accommodation.

Twelve buildings remained closed on Sunday, with officials saying the safety of each would be assessed.