A student at Ecole des Mines on Boulevard Saint-Michel told Le Parisien: “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 a huge noise. I smelled gas, but took several minutes to come to my senses.”
gas explosion
Is there another source reporting that?
Edit: this is probably a side effect of federation, but at least four people have confirmed it’s most likely a gas leak.
CBS is now reporting that citing the district mayor. Looks like the injury count is up to 16 as well
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paris-gas-explosion-building-serious-damage-american-academy-language-school/
Tagesschau in German news reported gas explosion as well.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/21/europe/paris-explosion-intl/index.html
Witnesses reported smelling gas before it happened. BBC news report stated.
France Info says gas as well
I mean it was my assumption, just didn’t see it in the article I linked, which is the one I read