At least 16 people have been injured, seven of them seriously, after a large explosion in central Paris.
The
blast took place in a building next to the Val de Grâce church in Rue
Saint-Jacques in the fifth arrondissement of the French capital.
A building next to the church was engulfed by flames and much of it appears to have collapsed.
According to witnesses quoted by French media, there was a strong smell of gas before the blast.
French prosecutors, meanwhile, said the cause of the blast had not been determined.
The building hit by the blast housed an international design school and the headquarters of the Catholic education system.
The
area has been cordoned off by police and a major rescue effort is under
way, amid fears that there could be more potential victims under the
debris.
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, is at the scene, while Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has warned people to avoid the area.
The fire that broke out as a result of the explosion is now under control, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters.
The area where the explosion took place runs south from the Latin
Quarter in Paris's Left Bank area that is popular with tourists and
known for its student population.
