Some 50 people have been temporarily sheltered and a security perimeter was established after a gas leak Monday night in Paris in the neighborhood where a spectacular explosion had killed four people and injured 66 in January, said firefighters and GRDF.
A little after midnight, the thirty firefighters and agents of gas distribution network France (GRDF) dispatched in the afternoon in the district Treviso (IXth district) were repairing the leaks located in one or two buildings, a told AFP the spokesman of the Paris fire brigade (BSPP), Lieutenant-Colonel Gabriel Plus. "We have evacuated floors of several buildings potentially affected by the leak, and established a wide security perimeter" affecting several streets and where traffic is cut, he had earlier said in the early evening. Around 23h, as the checks went on, the perimeter had begun to be reduced, a sign of less danger, he added.
About fifty residents sheltered
About fifty residents have been temporarily sheltered, said GRDF, stating that they have offered to cover their housing costs during the investigation and security. The leak was spotted from Treviso, a few dozen meters from the street of Treviso, where an explosion had killed four people - including two firefighters - and 66 wounded, January 12 in the morning. The teams of GRDF and BSPP had arrived there in the afternoon after receiving a call for a suspicious smell of gas, said GRDF in a statement. It came from one or two buildings between Ambroise Thomas Street and the city of Treviso, where the gas was cut. It was then delivered floor by floor, except where there was a leak and where it will take several days to be handed over, said Lieutenant-Colonel Plus.
"The town hall is open to accommodate the inhabitants pending further instructions," tweeted the mayor of the eleventh arrondissement in the evening.
Cité Treviso / rue Ambroise Thomas: the perimeter is already closed. Investigations are still ongoing. The town hall is open to accommodate the inhabitants pending further instructions. @dburkli is present corner rue Bleue / cité Treviso to answer your questions
- 9th Paris City Hall (@ Mairie9Paris) September 30, 2019"It's been an hour now that it is barred," said in the early evening on the spot at AFP a resident of rue Richer, blocked by the cordon of safety. "It's really not reassuring after what happened," he added. Just after the explosion in January, which blew the facades of several adjacent streets and destroyed some buildings, the first elements of the investigation had evoked a possible gas leak. But the exact origin has so far not been officially established.