Emergency services said six people confirmed dead, while two people are still missing when an explosion destroyed a four-story building in the northeastern suburb of Rosny-sous-Bois, Paris on Sunday morning.

Fire department spokesman Gabriel Plus said that victims include an 10-year-old boy and a mother, and two other victims aged 14 and 18. Firefighters also found an unconscious 80-year-old woman who died while being pulled from the rubble.

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Rescue workers pulled 11 people alive out of the rubble. Four of them were seriously injured, including two children aged 10 and 13, Plus added.

Based on sources, rescuers believe two people are still trapped under the debris. Firefighters are still investigating the rubble for two missing victims, Mayor Claude Capillon said.

Mayor Capillon remains hopeful that their search and rescue mission of those who are still missing would continue throughout the night.

The search operation would continue for at least 24 hours with caution because the rest of the building left standing might collapse, Emergency crew chief Bernard Tourneur said.

However, Philippe Galli, a local prefect of Saint-Seine-Denis, said in a statement that the chances of finding survivors drop the longer it takes rescuers to act.

About 150 emergency workers and firefighters toiled throughout Sunday night among the remains of the building with the help of sniffer dogs, Galli added.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the reporters that the explosion happened around 7 a.m., local time, Sunday and confirmed that police initially pointed to a gas leak as the cause of the blast.

However, Distribution de gaz naturel en France (GRDF), the company in charge of delivering gas to homes, told the media that no leaks had been reported before in the area, reports confirmed.

TagsParis, death, building explosion, Europe