Dozens Evacuated After Huge Explosions Rock Supermarket in France (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Residents of Plancoet, in northwestern France, were awoken in the middle of the night by a series of ferocious explosions at a nearby supermarket.
The explosions destroyed properties, blew out windows and had the authorities scrambling to evacuate the area, whilst trying to contain the enormous blaze.
Approximately 40 firefighters were in attendance in minutes, from the towns service and local villages to attend to the blaze which starte at 02:38am local time at the ‘Hyper U” store in the town, Euro Weekly News reported.
Exploded gas bottles were hurled over 50 meters, and in the vicinity there was a huge worry for firefighters as there is a large LPG, (liquid petroleum gas), tank nearby which had it exploded would have wreaked havoc.
Fifty-five people were evacuated from their homes as the gas bottles continued to explode, these could become missiles, and cause more devastation.
Hampering their efforts further was the risk of additional gas cylinders exploding and becoming improvised missiles, forcing firefighters to keep their distance and rely on water cannon to tame the blaze.
Thursday morning’s fire is the largest of 15 blazes to occur in the town in the last three months. Mayor Patrick Barrault declined to comment on the possibility that a serial arsonist was to blame for the recent spate of fires, citing an ongoing investigation.
Thankfully nobody was injured in the incident, and at the moment there is no knowledge of how much the damage will cost to repair.
