Huge explosion rocks Paris, 16 injured
Paris, Jun 21: A strong explosion hit a building in Paris' Left Bank on Wednesday, leaving at least 16 injured and igniting a fire that sent smoke soaring over city monuments and prompted the evacuation of surrounding buildings, police said.
The cause of the blast was not immediately known.
The facade of a building in the 5th arrondissement, or district, collapsed and emergency services were working to determine if anyone was still inside, a Paris police official said. The explosion hit near the historic Val de Grace military hospital.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters there were 16 people injured, including seven in "emergency condition." The authorities did not specify whether the injured were in life-threatening condition.
The fire was contained but not extinguished, Nunez said.
Florence Berthout, mayor of the arrondissement, said, "The explosion was extremely violent," describing pieces of glass still falling from buildings.
The police official described several injuries, some of them critical, but did not provide an exact figure as emergency workers continued their search.
The smell of smoke lingered in the air while the gray plume visibly lessened as firefighters battled the blaze. The neighbourhood was cordoned off and scores of emergency workers, police and soldiers filled the area.
Paris police spokeswoman Loubna Atta said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports it was caused by a gas explosion.
Achille, a student, said he was in a building about 100 metres (yards) from the explosion.
"I was sitting on the windowsill, and we moved 2 metres away from the window, carried by a small blast (from the explosion) and huge fear," he told BFM television. His last name was not given.
"We came down (from the building) and saw the flames," he said. "The police gave us great support and we evacuated quickly."
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Man City makes it six Premier League wins in a row with 2-1 victory against Nottingham Forest
Manchester (England) (AP): Rayan Cherki kept Manchester City's Premier League title challenge powering on with a late winner at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The France forward's 83rd minute strike secured a 2-1 victory at the City Ground to make it six league wins in a row for Pep Guardiola's team.
City is on an eight-game winning run in all and provisionally moved to the top of the standings — one point ahead of Arsenal, which was playing Brighton later on Saturday.
“Today is a big win,” Cherki told TNT Sports. “I'm proud of the team because this game is very complicated to win.”
It was Cherki's second goal in three games and fifth over all. He also provided an assist with an intricate pass to Tijjani Reijnders to put City ahead three minutes into the second half.
Omari Hutchinson equalized for relegation-fighting Forest, which was holding out for a crucial point until Cherki fired through a crowded box for the winner.
Guardiola looks like a man who believes his team is ready to regain the title it surrendered to Liverpool last season. He joined in the celebrations with the traveling fans after the final whistle — acting conductor as they celebrated wildly after another win.
