Seven people, including an infant, were killed on Sunday night in a fire that followed an explosion in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, in France’s Pyrénées-Orientales (south), the French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin said.
A previous report stated that five people died in the fire, which broke out after a huge explosion at a grocery store at around 1:30 a.m.
“An explosion followed by a fire has left at least seven people dead in the Pyrénées-Orientales. I interrupt my trip to Montpellier to go to the scene,” tweeted Darmanin.
According to media reports, rescue workers are still looking for victims or survivors under the rubble.
The explosion of unknown origin and the fire have also made a serious injury; a man in his thirties, who had to be evacuated in an absolute emergency, said the media. He would have jumped from the second floor to escape the flames, according to France 3 TV channel, which estimates that about fifteen houses were affected.
Three other slightly injured, intoxicated by smoke, were counted by the emergency services.
An investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of this explosion, which mobilized nearly one hundred firefighters.
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