By Matthew Roscoe • Published: 07 Dec 2021 • 13:18
TRAGEDY struck Sanary-sur-mer, France on Tuesday, December 7 after one person was found dead and several injured – including a baby – after a three-story apartment building collapsed. Early indications suggest that it horrific incident was due to a gas explosion, according to local firefighters.
The incident happened at around 3.50 am after an explosion occurred in the building before it collapsed. Around 70 firefighters were deployed to the scene and are said to have “detected a strong smell of gas” upon arrival. Specialist rescue teams were also sent to the scene along with dog teams.
A woman and a baby were rescued by the teams and were both conscious, however, a man was unconscious when he was rescued. All three were taken to hospital.
Neighbouring buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
“We took over two hours to bring this baby out. He is currently supported by teams from Samu who are on site. He’s fine,” Colonel Eric Grohin of the Var fire department said during a press briefing. “To find the baby who we heard screaming, the dog immediately marked [his position] and that allowed us to make a tunnel to go and look for him and we managed to bring him out,” he added.
“We are trying to locate the other potential victims,” he concluded.
According to Grohin, two people could potentially still be under the rubble. Six were evacuated including the deceased.
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Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
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