Difficult, this Thursday afternoon, to find witnesses, even auditory, of the explosion which occurred a few minutes earlier in an apartment on rue du Fort, in Marcq-en-Barœul. At this time of day, many residents and local residents were absent from their homes. Like Christophe, the victim’s immediate neighbor. “ A resident of the residence called me to alert me because my vehicle, parked right in front of the building, was damaged. I was working. I came immediately and came across this… »
That’s a true spectacle of desolationwith a gutted window and a multitude of objects and debris scattered on the roadway like a puzzle. Proof of the violence of the explosionpart of the window frame was propelled onto the sidewalk opposite and stuck in the roof of a house. “ The chassis crossed the street, it’s spectacularrecognizes Bernard Gérardthe mayor of Marcq-en-Barœul. I’ve never seen that. »
An apartment blown up by an explosion
It was a little after 1:15 p.m. when the alert was given. A large emergency response immediately converged on 40 rue du Fort, in an apartment in a residence which has fifteen apartments. The building, owned by the developer SIA Habitat, is located just opposite the Tennis League of Flanders.
The occupant of the apartment, a man aged around fifty according to his neighbors, was very seriously burned on the face and forearms. Supported by a SMUR team, the victim was transported in a medical convoy to the burns department of the Lille CHRU.
As long as we don’t have the right papers, the right diagnoses and the right audits, we won’t be able to reinstate the premises. »
« We had an explosion in unit 11confirms Alexandre Detrez, heritage manager at SIA Habitat. We immediately launched a structural study of the building, which was made safe. The gas has been completely cut off. But the other tenants do not feel safe. As a precautionary measure, we will be rehousing this evening. And on the basis of the structural relationship and the gas elements with GrDF, we will have the housing reinstated or not. »
A structural study of the building launched
But the quick examination of the building was rather reassuring. “ The structure of the building is concrete shell. What was blown inside was more drywall, the separations between the rooms of the apartment. For the moment, we have not spotted any cracks in the structural work. But we will do everything necessary to be reassuring. And as long as we don’t have the right papers, the right diagnoses and the right audits, we will not reinstate the premises. »
An investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of the incident and the exact causes of the explosion. “ The preferred track is the accidental track », Explains the mayor.
Rue du Fort was secured by the national and municipal police services. Traffic was cut off at the Ferme aux Oies roundabout to allow numerous emergency means to intervene. The technical services of the town of Marcq cleaned the road and collected the debris.
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