Overview

• The explosion ripped through a seven-storey block in the Minguettes neighbourhood of Vénissieux at about 03:30 on August 18.
• A 70-year-old man was found dead in his fourth-floor apartment where a gas cylinder is believed to have detonated.
• Emergency responders deployed around 90 firefighters and 40 vehicles to extinguish the blaze and treat residents.
• About 150 people were evacuated to a municipal shelter and, after safety checks, half of the building’s occupants have been allowed back home.
• Officials are pursuing a suspected gas leak hypothesis and conducting forensic and structural inspections to confirm the cause and ensure building safety.