At least 16 people have sustained injuries, seven of them severe, after an explosion in central Paris, the French capital.
The blast which happened on Wednesday in Rue Saint-Jacques caused one building’s facade to collapse, while several others caught fire.
The area is famed for its high student population.
According to France 24, witnesses described hearing a large explosion preceding the fire.
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Laurent Nunez, the Paris police chief, said the explosion occurred inside a building that includes the Paris American Academy, a bilingual school of fashion and design.
The road leads from the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral to the Sorbonne University and the Val-de-Grâce military hospital and is a few blocks from the popular Jardin du Luxembourg.
The area is usually packed with tourists and foreign students in the early summer.
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Loubna Atta, police spokesperson, said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports that it was caused by a gas explosion.
Police have asked residents to avoid the area as interventions continue.
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