massive gas explosion caused buildings to burst into flames in France’s capital on Wednesday leaving 16 people injured, seven of them critically.
Flames leapt 100ft high in central Paris’ fifth arrondissement, close to the historic Pantheon monument and the Latin Quarter.
In the immediate aftermath, debris littered the street, as people stood around, looking stunned by the force of the explosion about 5pm local time (4pm GMT).
One man told France Info public radio: “It was shocking. It’s a disaster.”
Police told people to avoid the Val de Grâce area after the facade of a building collapsed and the fire appeared to have spread to neighbouring buildings.
A student at Ecole des Mines on Boulevard Saint-Michel told Le Parisien newspaper: “I was in front of the Val de Grâce, I heard a huge boom and I saw a ball of fire 20 or 30m high.
“And the building collapsed with…
