Search for person feared missing after Paris explosion is complicated by debris, unstable building

PARIS -- Paris rescuers are struggling to reach a person feared trapped in a Left Bank building that partially collapsed earlier this week in a violent explosion, the city prosecutor said Friday, citing a complex and risky rubble-clearing operation.

Four people remain hospitalized in critical condition after Wednesday's blast, and at least 54 others suffered lighter injuries or psychological shock, Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.

One person has been declared missing, but the search “has been complicated by the ongoing risk that the neighboring building could collapse, and the difficulty of clearing large blocks of stone,” she said.

Buildings in the area were evacuated after the explosion, which ignited a fire that took hours to extinguish and sent smoke billowing over Paris landmarks, leaving witnesses shaken.

Investigators are studying whether a gas leak could have sparked the blast, among other possible causes. Beccuau said witnesses had described the smell of gas.

The investigation will seek to determine whether the blast was the result of violation of safety rules, the prosecutor said. Scientific experts ca not search the site until it is fully secured.

The explosion near the historic Val de Grace Military hospital in Paris’ 5th district crumpled the façade of a building that housed a private academy of design and arts.