Several people were injured after a big explosion badly damaged a bakery in central Paris, smashing windows in surrounding buildings, reported AFP. A fire broke out after the blast at around 9am (0800 GMT) in the busy 9th district of the city, which police suspect may have been caused by a gas leak.
Images posted on Twitter showed debris covering the street and the lower part of the building blown out and on fire. An AFP photographer saw at least one person being carried away on a stretcher from the building by firefighters. Firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze and exacuate some people from the building using ladders while emergency workers treated some of the injured at the scene.