INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A blast ripped through a street near Paris& historic Latin Quarter on Wednesday and rescuers were searching for two missing people feared
buried under the rubble of a building that partially collapsed in the explosion, Reuters reported.The explosion tore through Rue
Saint-Jacques, which runs from the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral to the Sorbonne University, in the late afternoon, injuring at least 37
people, four of whom were fighting for their lives in hospital.Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that sniffer dogs had picked up a
scent under the mound of masonry left strewn across Rue Saint-Jacques.&It is possible tonight that we will find bodies or perhaps
survivors,& Darmanin told reporters at the scene of the blast.The blast destroyed the facade of a building housing the Paris American
Academy design school popular with foreign students, read the report.Witnesses described a deafening explosion and a giant fireball that
rose several stories high.Soldiers helped secure a safety cordon around the scene.The Paris prosecutor&s office said it was too early to say
what caused the blast.But the local deputy mayor, Edouard Civel, referred to a gas explosion in a Twitter post and witnesses told BFM TV
there had been a strong smell of gas moments before the blast.&The shop shook violently, it felt like bomb blast,& said Rahman Oliur who
manages a food shop a few doors down the street from the American Academy.Bar worker Khal Ilsey said he heard a &huge explosion& before
running out and seeing a violent blaze at the end of the street.According to Reuters the blast occurred at 4:55 p.m
(1455 GMT), just as workers were heading home
The area is frequented by tourists and foreign students in the early summer but there was no immediate indication that any foreigners were
among the victims.Several nearby building were evacuated
More than two hours after the explosion, first responders were still treating residents for shock
One woman fainted in the street.Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said early indications were that the blast originated inside the collapsed
Investigators would look into whether building conditions were in breach of regulations or if an individual had acted without due care, he
added.More than 300 firefighters were involved in bringing the blazes under control.Rue Saint-Jacques runs through the Latin Quarter & famed
as the home to many expatriate and French writers, musicians and artists over the years & to the Val de Grace military hospital and is a few
blocks from the popular Jardin du Luxembourg.&I was at home writing … I thought it was a bomb,& said art historian Monique Mosser, adding
that many of the windows in her building had been blown out by the blast&s shockwave.&A neighbour knocked on the door and told me that the
fire brigade were asking us to evacuate as quickly as possible
I grabbed my laptop, my phone
I didn&t even think to take get my medication.&In January 2019, a gas leak caused an explosion that killed 4 people and injured 66 in the
In April that year, a fire broke out in the Notre-Dame Cathedral, destroying much of the roof and causing other damage before it was
extinguished, read the report.The post Paris blast: At least 37 hurt, sniffer dogs pick up scent under rubble first appeared on Ariana News.
