At least 16 people have been injured after an explosion at a building in Paris’ Left Bank, police said.
The blast ignited a fire that sent smoke soaring over monuments in the French capital and prompted the evacuation of surrounding buildings.
The cause of the blast was not immediately known.
The facade of a building in the 5th arrondissement, or district, collapsed and emergency services were working to determine if anyone was still inside, police added.
The explosion happened near the historic Val de Grace military hospital.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters there were 16 people injured, including seven in an “emergency condition”.
The authorities did not specify whether the injured were in a life-threatening condition.
The fire was contained but not extinguished, Mr Nunez said.
Florence Berthout, mayor of the district, said “the explosion was extremely violent”, describing pieces of glass still falling from buildings.
A police official described several injuries, some of them critical, but did not provide an exact figure as emergency workers continued their search.
The smell of smoke lingered in the air while the grey plume visibly lessened as firefighters battled the blaze.
The neighbourhood was cordoned off and scores of emergency workers, police and soldiers filled the area.
Paris police spokeswoman Loubna Atta said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports it was caused by a gas explosion.
Achille, a student, said he was in a building about 100 metres from the explosion.
“I was sitting on the windowsill, and we moved two meters away from the window, carried by a small blast (from the explosion) and huge fear,” he told BFM television.
“We came down (from the building) and saw the flames. The police gave us great support and we evacuated quickly.”
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