Two bodies were found on Sunday night among the rubble of a house that collapsed due to an explosion in Marseille, in southern France, the fire department said.

“Given the particular difficulties of the operation, recovery (including bodies from under the ruins) will take time,” the fire department explained in a succinct statement, confirming the information from La Provence newspaper and BFMTV.

A collapsed building in Marseille: une cinquantaine de familles relogées pic.twitter.com/sJ2HrC4U0R

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) April 10, 2023

Collapsed building in Marseille: what is needed for evacuation? pic.twitter.com/AN4Bet0db5

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) April 10, 2023

According to the same source, “the judiciary will then proceed to identify” the victims. “There will be an update early in the morning,” the post reads.

The identification of the victims was recorded more than 24 hours after a giant explosion that caused the collapse of a four-story residential building in Marseille. A third building partially collapsed and about 30 buildings in the area were evacuated, interior minister Gerard Darmanen, who visited the scene, said.

Nearly 180 people have been displaced, housing minister Olivier Maple told radio Europe 1.

Earlier yesterday, Marseille’s public prosecutor said that search and rescue services continue to search for six people who are missing and possibly buried under the rubble.

The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, in a press release issued by his services, spoke of “great pain and suffering tonight.”

“We will continue to do everything” to complete the rescue operation, he continued, emphasizing that “all services of the city, with the help of public services, are always continuing, even at this moment (…) the investigation.”

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.