Eight people feared trapped under rubble after Marseille building collapse

Eight people are feared to be trapped under the rubble after an explosion caused an apartment building to collapse in the French city of Marseille.

More than 100 firefighters worked against a ticking clock to extinguish flames deep within debris to save the people trapped in the wreckage early on Sunday.

At least five people have sustained serious injuries after the four-storey building was brought down, causing damage to some surrounding structures.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known, but authorities suspect a gas leak is likely.

Persistent flames and fears of further collapse prevented rescuers from being able to search for victims more than 15 hours after the blast.

“We cannot intervene in a very classic way,” said interior minister Gerald Darmanin during a visit to the site - about 11 hours after the collapse at 1am.

He said the fire was burning a few meters under the mounds of debris and that both water and foam represent a danger to victims’ survival.

More than 17 hours later the situation was "not yet stabilised", Marseille prosecutor Dominique Laurens told an evening news conference.

Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said two buildings that share walls with the one that collapsed were partially brought down before one later caved in, another complication in the search and rescue operation. Drones and probes have been used to examine the scene for signs of life. The burning debris was too hot for dogs in the firefighters' canine team to work until Sunday afternoon, though smoke still bothered them, the prosecutor said.

An investigation has been opened for involuntary injury, at least initially sidestepping possible criminal intentions. Firefighters, with the help of urban rescue experts, worked through the night and all day Sunday in a slow race against time.

The delicate operation aimed to keep firefighters safe, prevent further harm to people potentially trapped in the rubble and not compromise vulnerable buildings nearby, already partially collapsed. Some 30 buildings in the area were evacuated, Darmanin said.

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Lauren, the prosecutor, said that firefighters “are really in a complicated situation, dangerous for them”. “We heard an explosion... a very strong explosion which made us jump, and that's it,” said Marie Ciret, who was among those evacuated.

“We looked outside the window at what was happening. We saw smoke, stones, and people running.” Robots were reportedly being deployed to the scene, while a crane was brought in to clear rubble.

Firefighters were at one point seen in TV video hosing parts of the debris from a window in a nearby apartment as plumes of smoke rose skyward.

Mayor Payan said: “Firefighters are gauging minute by minute the best way to put out the fire. We must prepare ourselves to have victims."