Explosion Hits Building in Paris, Injuring 24

Smoke billows from rubbles of a building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, on June 21, 2023. (Photo by ABDULMONAM EASSA / AFP)
Smoke billows from rubbles of a building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, on June 21, 2023. (Photo by ABDULMONAM EASSA / AFP)
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Explosion Hits Building in Paris, Injuring 24

Smoke billows from rubbles of a building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, on June 21, 2023. (Photo by ABDULMONAM EASSA / AFP)
Smoke billows from rubbles of a building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, on June 21, 2023. (Photo by ABDULMONAM EASSA / AFP)

A strong explosion hit a building in Paris' Left Bank on Wednesday, leaving 24 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 happened near the historic Val de Grace military hospital.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the building where the explosion occurred was a private school, the Paris American Academy, which was founded in 1965 and offers teaching in fashion design, interior design, fine arts and creative writing.

The fire was contained but not yet extinguished. Some 270 firefighters were involved in putting out the flames and 70 emergency vehicles were on the scene.

A Paris police official told The Associated Press that 24 people were injured, including four in critical condition and 20 with less severe injuries. The official says the injuries were sustained mainly when people were blown off their feet by the blast.

Officials from the 5th arrondissement attributed the blast and blaze to a gas leak.

District Mayor Florence Berthout said, “The explosion was extremely violent,” describing pieces of glass still falling from buildings.

The Paris prosecutor said an investigation was opened into aggravated involuntary injury and the probe would examine whether the explosion stemmed from a suspected violation of safety rules.

Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said investigators would seek to “determine whether or not there was failure to respect a rule or individual imprudence that led to the explosion.”

Nunez, the Paris police chief, said firefighters prevented the fire from igniting two neighboring buildings that were “seriously destabilized” by the explosion and evacuated. The explosion blew out several windows in the area, witnesses and the police chief said.

Smoke was no longer visibly rising from the building by Wednesday evening. Sirens still wailed as ambulances passed through the neighborhood, but residents were starting to move freely again on the street, rue Saint-Jacques, which was cordoned off earlier.



Russia Says US Threats of Military Strikes against Iran are Unacceptable

Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
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Russia Says US Threats of Military Strikes against Iran are Unacceptable

Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
Military personnel stand guard at a nuclear facility in the Zardanjan area of Isfahan, Iran, April 19, 2024, in this screengrab taken from video. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

Russia said on Thursday that threats of military strikes against its ally Iran were unacceptable and warned that attacking Iran could lead to potentially catastrophic results if nuclear installations were bombed.

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program, and the United States has moved additional warplanes into the region.

Asked about Iran's nuclear program and the dangers in the current situation, Russia's foreign ministry said that Moscow was committed to finding solutions to Iran's nuclear program which respected Tehran's rights to peaceful nuclear energy.

"The use of military force by Iran's opponents in the context of the settlement is illegal and unacceptable," Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the ministry, told reporters.

"Threats from outside to bomb Iran's nuclear infrastructure facilities will inevitably lead to an irreversible global catastrophe. These threats are simply unacceptable."

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program.

Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.

Russia and Iran signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership agreement" in January, though there is no mutual defense clause. Under the agreement, if one party is attacked, the other will not help the aggressor.

Russia condemns US threats, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Life magazine. Ryabkov said an attack on Iran could unfurl a broader open conflict in the Middle East.

"The consequences of this, especially if there are strikes on the nuclear infrastructure, could be catastrophic for the entire region," Ryabkov said.