At least three people have died in an explosion and partial collapse of a four-storey residential building in northern France.
Housing Minister Cecile Duflot said the blast was believed to be accidental and its most likely cause was a gas leak, DPA reports.
Fourteen people, including children, were injured in the collapse in Reims in the Champagne region, firefighters said. Up to four people remained missing, according to local media reports.
A section of the building housing 12 apartments collapsed, Mayor Adeline Hazan told the local television, adding that the complex was built in the 1960s.
"The explosion was extremely strong because it shattered the windows in the buildings in front of it," she said.
Four family members were killed in another gas leak and explosion in a Reims suburb this month.
The blast on 3 April ripped through a housing complex in Witry-les-Reims and ripped off its facade
