The entrance to the residence on rue des Fléneaux in Puilboreau is nothing but desolation this Wednesday, May 8 in the morning. During the night, around 4:30 a.m., an explosion blew out one of the social housing buildings. The incident occurred in the…
The entrance to the residence on rue des Fléneaux in Puilboreau is nothing but desolation this Wednesday, May 8 in the morning. During the night, around 4:30 a.m., an explosion blew out one of the social housing buildings. The disaster occurred in the apartment of a 56-year-old man, certainly due to a gas leak, given the extent of the damage. The victim, whose vital prognosis is in jeopardy, was rushed to Poitiers hospital. Miraculously, the other 44 residents were unhurt, two suffered minor injuries.
Surprised in the middle of the night, they are still confused this Wednesday morning, in the Baillac multipurpose room where they were welcomed by the services of the City of Puilboreau, the Samu, the Red Cross and the firefighters while waiting to be rehoused by their lessor Domofrance. Everyone, or almost all, are in their pajamas, woken up a few hours ago by a loud “boom”. “I thought it was a plane that had just crashed,” says Agnès. When I came out of my apartment, the stairwell was gone. » Abdel still doesn’t realize it. “The elevator had fallen. It was dark, we couldn’t see anything. We could hear the screams. » Rudy, for his part, believed it was a missile attack, “like we are seeing on TV at the moment. I was in my boxers on the sofa. When I got up, I saw emptiness, there was no wall anymore. »
80 firefighters mobilized
According to initial findings, the explosion was due to a gas leak. The cars parked in front of the residence are in poor condition. The residents of the Domitys senior residence located opposite, a few meters away, have their windows blown out. Bad memories resurfaced for Claude, 93 years old. “I fought in the war. I thought about reliving it, it reminded me of her. I moved here three years ago, I came here to have peace of mind…”
Eighty firefighters were mobilized, as well as people search dogs. An investigation to find the causes of the explosion was opened and entrusted to the police officers of the Departmental Security of La Rochelle.
