An explosion whose origin is still unknown resounded Monday evening in a three-story building in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime), before a fire.
A 63-year-old woman died of cardiovascular arrest after her floor collapsed.
Around twenty residents were evacuated from their homes.
An explosion occurred in a laundromat located on the ground floor of a building in the city center of La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime). The explosion rang out on Monday around 7 p.m. in a three-story building and was followed by a fire. After the explosion, “part of the staircase collapsed and a fire then started on the roof”indicated Captain Pascal Cousseau, commander of rescue operations, in the video at the top of this article.
An open investigation
Faced with the risk of this building collapsing and the risk of the fire spreading, around twenty people were evacuated to four buildings located nearby. “It was a large-scale intervention. The buildings are on top of each other. There was a fairly significant risk of the fire spreading to neighboring roofs”said Captain Pascal Cousseau.
A 63-year-old woman died of cardiovascular arrest after her floor collapsed on the third floor of the building. The origin of the explosion is unknown, the prefecture tells us. The prosecution opened an investigation. In total, 45 firefighters were mobilized, as well as two water throwers, ten police officers and six gendarmes to secure the area.
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