3 dead, dozens injured in Paris gas explosion

PARIS — A powerful explosion apparently caused by a gas leak blew apart a Paris bakery on Saturday and devastated the street it was on, killing three people and injuring dozens as it blasted out windows and overturned nearby cars, French authorities said.

Witnesses described the sound of the explosion as deafening. Firefighters pulled injured victims from broken windows and rescued residents and tourists as a fire raged and smoke billowed over Rue de Trevise in the 9th arrondissement of northcentral Paris.

Charred debris and broken glass covered the pavement around the apartment building housing the bakery, which resembled a blackened carcass, and people were trapped inside nearby buildings.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner paid homage to the courage of rescuers, who saved the life of one firefighter who was buried under the rubble for 2 hours.

The French Interior Ministry said two firefighters and a female Spanish tourist were killed by the blast and about 10 of the 47 wounded were in critical condition. French authorities corrected the figure of four dead given earlier by France’s interior minister.

Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said the cause of the blast appeared to be an accidental gas leak. He said Paris firefighters were already at the scene to investigate a suspected gas leak at the bakery when the explosion happened about 9 a.m.

The bakery is around the corner from the Folies-Bergère theatre and not far from the Paris shopping district that includes the famed headquarters of Galeries Lafayette.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said residents and tourists were moved from neighbouring buildings and hotels and Paris authorities were helping to provide them temporary accommodations.

The explosion came as the French capital was under heavy security for yellow-vest protests against economic inequality. Authorities said 32,000 protesters took to the streets around the country.