Four still missing as rescuers pull fourth body from ruins of Marseille building

Rescue workers on Monday recovered a fourth body from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in the southern French port city of Marseille. Four people remain unaccounted for.

Firefighters at the scene of the Marseille building collapse. AFP - CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU

More than 24 hours after an explosion at the building, where residents reported a strong smell of gas, dozens of civil defence staff and sniffer dogs worked among the debris as a fire still smouldered.

"Four bodies have been found," Housing Minister Olivier Klein said, at the site of the accident.

The deputy mayor of the Mediterranean port city, Yannick Ohanessian, said rescue workers still had hope of finding survivors.

"Until the very end, we will believe it is possible, even if chances become slimmer with every passing hour," he said.

Lionel Mathieu, the commander of the city's fire department, said his team was waging a "battle against time".

"The fire has not reached all parts of the building, so there is hope," he said.

The fire at the site has made it difficult for trained police dogs to detect more victims or survivors.

Strong smell of gas

The cause of the explosion is still to be determined, but investigators are looking at the possibility it was the result of a gas leak.

Residents in neighbouring buildings reported a "strong smell of gas".

Ohanessian said several witnesses had reported "a suspicious smell of gas".

Two buildings next to the destroyed property were severely damaged, with one collapsing later in the day without injuring any rescuers.

Almost 200 residents were evacuated from surrounding buildings.

The city provided some emergency shelter, and the local community also sprang into action to help coordinate housing and aid for those made homeless.

Shadows of 2018

In 2018, eight people were killed in Marseille when two dilapidated buildings in the working-class district of Noailles caved in.

That disaster cast a harsh light on the city's housing standards, with aid groups saying 40,000 people were living in shoddy structures.

Marseille authorities on Sunday appeared to rule out structural issues in the latest collapse.

"There was no danger notice for this building, and it is not in a neighbourhood identified as having substandard housing," said Christophe Mirmand, prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhone region.