PARIS — A powerful explosion at a Paris building injured four people Wednesday and sparked a fire that sent thick plumes of smoke over the famous Pantheon and prompted the evacuation of nearby buildings, police said.
At the moment, the cause of the explosion is unknown.
The facade of the building in the Fifth Arrondissement (district) has collapsed and emergency services are trying to find out if anyone is inside, a Parisian police official said.
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Florence Berthout, mayor of the district, indicated that four people are in a “total emergency” condition.
“The explosion was extremely violent,” Berthout said, describing how pieces of glass were thrown into the air.
Authorities cordoned off the neighborhood and large numbers of emergency personnel showed up on the scene.
Police spokeswoman Loubna Atta said it was too early to know the origin of the fire and she could not confirm reports that it was a gas explosion.
