Firefighters work after constructing collapsed early Sunday in Marseille, southern France.

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Firefighters work after constructing collapsed early Sunday in Marseille, southern France.

AP

MARSEILLE, France — Eight individuals remained lacking after the constructing they lived in exploded and collapsed early Sunday close to the port of Marseille, leaving mounds of burning particles hampering rescue operations, officers mentioned.

More than 100 firefighters labored in opposition to a ticking clock to extinguish flames deep inside the rubble of the five-story constructing, however greater than 17 hours later “the situation is not yet stabilized,” Marseille Prosecutor Dominique Laurens mentioned at a night information convention.

Earlier within the day, officers had thought that between 4 and 10 individuals could have been trapped. Laurens mentioned police have but to verify the obvious disappearance of a ninth one who lived in a next-door constructing. Five individuals suffered minor accidents from the collapse, which occurred shortly earlier than 1 a.m.

Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan mentioned two buildings that share partitions with the one which collapsed have been partially introduced down earlier than one later caved in, one other complication within the search and rescue operation. The buildings have been amongst evacuated buildings.

Drones and probes have been used to look at the scene for indicators of life. The burning particles was too scorching for canines within the firefighters’ canine staff to work till Sunday afternoon, although smoke nonetheless bothered them, the prosecutor mentioned.

“We cannot intervene in a very classic way,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin mentioned throughout a morning go to to the positioning. He mentioned the hearth was burning a number of meters below the mounds of particles and that each water and foam symbolize a hazard to victims’ survival.

An investigation has been opened for involuntary damage, at the least initially sidestepping attainable prison intentions. A fuel explosion was among the many tracks to verify, mentioned Laurens, the prosecutor. But the beginning of the probe additionally was restricted by the warmth of the blaze.

“The flames weren’t pink. They were blue,” Payan mentioned.

Firefighters, with the assistance of city rescue specialists, labored by means of the night time and all day Sunday in a gradual race in opposition to time. The delicate operation aimed to maintain firefighters protected, forestall additional hurt to individuals probably trapped within the rubble and never compromise susceptible buildings close by, already partially collapsed. Some 30 buildings within the space have been evacuated, Darmanin mentioned.

Lauren, the prosecutor, mentioned that firefighters “are really in a complicated situation, dangerous for them.” Work is progressing however with security precautions, she mentioned.

“We heard an explosion … a very strong explosion which made us jump, and that’s it,” mentioned Marie Ciret, who was amongst these evacuated. “We looked outside the window at what was happening. We saw smoke, stones, and people running.”

The constructing that collapsed is situated on a slender road lower than a kilometer (a half-mile) from Marseille’s iconic outdated port, including to an array of difficulties for firefighters and rescue employees. The prosecutor mentioned the constructing and people subsequent door “are not at all substandard buildings.”

Robots have been reportedly being deployed. A crane was introduced in to clear rubble and firefighters have been at one level seen in TV video hosing elements of the particles from a window in a close-by house as plumes of smoke rose skyward.

“We’re trying to drown the fire while preserving the lives of eventual victims under the rubble,” Lionel Mathieu, commander of the Marseille hearth brigade, mentioned throughout a televised briefing.

“Firefighters are gauging minute by minute the best way to put out the fire,” Payan, the mayor, mentioned.

“We must prepare ourselves to have victims,” he mentioned grimly.

The collapsed constructing is situated in an outdated quarter within the heart of France’s second-largest metropolis. The noise from the explosion resounded in different neighborhoods. Nearby streets have been blocked off.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne each tweeted their ideas for individuals affected and because of the firefighters.

In 2018, two buildings within the heart of Marseille collapsed, killing eight individuals. Those buildings have been poorly maintained — not the case with the constructing that collapsed Sunday after an explosion, the inside minister mentioned.