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A massive explosion tore through the Paris American Academy in central Paris on Wednesday (June 21) afternoon. The blast left at least 29 people injured, with four people listed in critical condition. Officials are still searching for at least two people believed to be buried in the rubble.
The Paris American Academy is a bilingual fashion and design school.
While authorities have said it is too early to determine the cause of the blast, many witnesses reported smelling smoke moments before the explosion. Local deputy mayor Édouard Civel called it a gas explosion on Twitter.
"Inhabitants of the 5th, a gas explosion has just occurred at Place Alfonse Laveran in the Val de Grace district, buildings are on fire, stay away to allow firefighters to intervene @Mairie5Paris," he wrote.
Over 200 firefighters rushed to the scene to battle the massive fire while soldiers and police began evacuating nearby buildings.
People nearby said they thought a bomb had gone off.
"The shop shook violently. It felt like a bomb blast," Rahman Oliur, who manages a food shop a few doors down the street from the American Academy, told Reuters.
"We heard an incredible, very loud explosion at around 5pm; we felt the force of it. We thought this isn't a storm; this is serious. We heard the fire services. I went out to see if I could help. But it's all shutoff. There are large numbers of fire services and emergency services. It's atrocious," Alexandra, a local pharmacist, said, according to The Guardian.