Two bodies have been found under the rubble of two buildings that collapsed following an explosion in the south of France.

Rescuers are continuing to search for at least six people in the southern city of Marseille.

Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said: “This morning the sorrow and pain are great. Two bodies were found under the rubble.

“I am thinking of the loved ones of those who suffer and remain in worry. Marseille stands by their side.

“Rescue and search operations continue unabated.”

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Search for missing in Marseille

Mr Payan told French media that more than 100 firefighters are searching for at least six people believed to have been trapped when the five-storey residential building collapsed.

Marseille prosecutor Dominique Laurens said the burning debris was too hot for dogs in the firefighters’ canine team to work until Sunday afternoon.

An investigation has been opened for involuntary injury and a gas explosion is among the lines of inquiry, Ms Laurens added.

The collapse happened shortly before 1am on Sunday and about 200 people were evacuated from their homes in the area.

TV footage showed clouds of smoke rising from the ruins as firefighters tried to douse the flames in Marseille.

The collapse of the buildings caused a fire that has complicated the rescue effort, Ms Laurens told reporters.

Five people were taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

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A man who gave his name only as Roland said survivors had “lost everything”.

“We have nothing, not even an ID card,” he told local newspaper La Provence.

He managed to get out of the building at 15 Rue de Tivoli with his wife and two children before it collapsed along with a neighbouring one.

There was also a partial collapse of a third building.

In total, 30 buildings in the area were evacuated, said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who visited the site.

“Thoughts are with Marseille,” President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

In 2018, about a kilometre from the collapses, three buildings considered not fit for habitation also collapsed,
killing eight people.

The mayor of Marseille said a parallel could not be drawn between the two events, while the prosecutor said the buildings that collapsed on Sunday were not known to have any structural problems.