An explosion occurred in a house in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen (Seine-Maritime), Thursday 12th April, 2018. Two bodies were extracted from the rubble.
An explosion took place in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray (Seine-Maritime) , in a dwelling house , rue Félix-Faure, located a little above the Picasso College, Thursday, April 12, 2018, early evening . The Departmental Operational Fire and Rescue Center (Codis) indicates that there has been a “collapse of the roof” and that “the house has burned down”. According to our information confirmed by Joachim Moyse mayor of the town, two bodies were extracted from the rubble shortly before 10pm.
A couple who lived there for a long time
The victims are an 85-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman, who have been living there for many years and “very well known to the people of Saint-Etienne,” according to Joachim Moyse. The town council also “salutes the great professionalism of the firefighters, police, doctors and technicians” many came to the scene of the disaster.
The thesis of the gas leak was discarded, the dwelling being not connected to the network. Bottles of gas used and stored by the couple could be the cause of the explosion that caused the fire and collapse of the house. A police investigation will have to shed light on this tragedy.
A resident remembers the scene:
“We heard three close-up explosions in a row, one of which created a big ball of fire that went up all of a sudden.”
Twenty residents evacuated the time of the intervention was able to return to his home around midnight. Firefighters finished their work at 2am.
