A woman in her 70s who worked at a design school has died as the result of an explosion in central Paris a month ago that sent a historic building crumbling down and ignited a huge fire in the Left Bank neighborhood, bringing the death toll to three, officials said Friday.
One body was found in the rubble six days after the June 21 blast, and a 59-year-old insurance agency worker later died in the hospital. A third critically injured person died on Thursday, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
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The third victim was a woman born in 1946, the prosecutor’s office said. She had worked at the Paris American Academy, a school in the collapsed building that specializes in design and arts, according to Florence Berthout, mayor of the city’s 5th district.
Firefighters battle a blaze at the site of a building explosion in Paris, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
The blast, not far from the Luxembourg Gardens, left six people critically injured and more than 50 with lighter injuries or in psychological shock, according to the Paris prosecutor.
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A manslaughter investigation is underway, with a gas leak among the possible causes being examined. Prosecutors are looking into whether the explosion was caused by intentional violation of safety rules.
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The French capital’s historic infrastructure has seen occasional gas explosions in the past.