Gas explosion thunders in Paris suburb

Gas explosion thunders in Paris suburb

A downtown street in a Paris suburb faced a gas line explosion, that killed at least one person and injured 42 others.

The gas line ruptured at about 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) across the street from a church in the center of the town of Bondy, northeast of Paris, triggering a blaze that 150 fire fighters battled for hours.

The blaze hopped to a nearby building, where the body of one person was found, said Florent Hivert of the Paris firefighters squad.

The explosion was caused by a blow from a mechanical digger during street work, according to the prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis, where Bondy is located.

Most of the seriously injured suffered burns, Hivert said.