France: One missing body found in rubble six days after explosion in Paris
Jun 27, 2023
Paris [France], June 27 : French emergency services, on Tuesday, discovered a body under the rubble of the rue Saint-Jacques, six days after the explosion of the building, French daily Le Parisien reported.
The body was identified as a 57-year-old woman, Anne B was missing since the explosion of a building in the heart of Paris, Wednesday, June 21.
Anne B was a sewing teacher for 20 years at the Paris American Academy. She was residing on the third floor of the building, which was blown up by the explosion, as per the Le Parisien.
Founded in 1965, the Paris American Academy is a bilingual private college that specializes in the arts, fashion, design, and cultural studies. It offers courses that range from summer workshops to bachelor's degree-level courses, according to The Connexion, France-based news.
According to several concordant sources, the very degraded state of the body makes it impossible for the moment to determine his identity. Her husband, Eric, had confided to the Parisian his anguish and the unbearable wait on Thursday.
"It's extremely tough. I didn't sleep last night ( Wednesday night through Thursday ), and I probably won't sleep next night," he said. Originally from around Paris - she from Oise, he from Yvelines - the couple lived in Yvelines.
In shock, the teacher's husband felt his "world apart". "My wife is everything to me," he confided, sobbing. "She is such a sweet person. I am unable to say more," the victim's husband choked out, specifying that his wife should not be working that day.
The explosion, which occurred around 5 pm (Local Time) on Rue Saint-Jacques, in the Fifth Arrondissement of the French capital, projected rubble and glass into the street and started a fire that sent black smoke billowing into the sky, The New York Times reported.
The incident left around 50 people injured, including six who were admitted to intensive care. Two people were originally reported missing, but one was later found, as per The Connexion.
After the incident, Gerald Darmanin, the French interior minister, told reporters more than 300 firefighters had deployed to the scene and were able to prevent the flames from spreading to neighbouring buildings, which were nonetheless "destabilized" and evacuated as a precaution, as per The New York Times.
