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French authorities said on Wednesday that four people have seriously been injured as a result of a building explosion in central Paris. 

While a total of 24 people sustained injuries due to the blast, two people are reportedly missing, officials said, noting that the explosion may have been caused by a gas leak that blew up inside the building. 

The explosion caused a massive fire to erupt, leading to the building's collapse.

Huge explosion rocks Paris! #Paris pic.twitter.com/E43CyLjpMt

— Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) June 21, 2023

About 70 fire trucks and 270 firefighters battled the scorching fire, while nine doctors attended to the injured. 

Emergency services are still working at the scene of the disaster looking for the two missing individuals who possibly remain stuck under the rubble.

Fire services initially said that the explosion had caused the collapse of two buildings, but the police later rectified that only one had collapsed. 

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The impact of the explosion was so powerful that windows as far as 400 meters (440 yards) away were shattered, sources say. 

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo wrote on Twitter: "My thoughts go first and foremost to the victims and their loved ones."  

❗️Just In 🔥: #Paris city officials confirm as gas #explosion, many buildings are on huge fire, emergency issued in 5th arrondissement, also known as the Latin Quarter.#France pic.twitter.com/5yeFHfZuOH

— CBKNEWS (@CBKNEWS121) June 21, 2023

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said that the fire has been "contained" and that "work is still taking place under the rubble" to find the missing individuals.  

Nunez added that the fire services "prevented the spread of the fire to two adjoining buildings which were seriously destabilized by the explosion" and "were evacuated."

The district's mayor wrote on Twitter that the explosion was caused by a gas leak, but the latter has yet to be confirmed by other sources. 

The affected building housed a private fashion school called the Paris American Academy, mayor of the 5th district in central Paris Florence Berthout said.

An investigation was immediately launched following the blast, prosecutors said.

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