FOUR bodies have been recovered from the rubble of an explosion that collapsed a building in the southern French city of Marseille, authorities said today. 

Officials say at least four people are still unaccounted for after the explosion in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Firefighters said that the judicial authority will begin trying to identify the victims of the blast.

Marie Ciret, who was among those evacuated, said: “We heard an explosion — a very strong explosion which made us jump, and that’s it. 

“We looked outside the window at what was happening. We saw smoke, stones and people running.”

Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan tweeted that “the pain and sorrow are great.

“Rescue-and-search operations are continuing, without respite.”

Mr Payan told French media that more than 100 firefighters on site were searching for at least five people believed to have been trapped in the five-storey residential building. 

There was still hope of finding survivors, he said, but two buildings that share walls with the one that collapsed were partially brought down before one later caved in, another complication in the search-and-rescue operation. 

An investigation has been opened to find the cause of the blast, with local media suggesting that a gas explosion might be the most likely explanation. 

The collapse took place in the centre of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, less than half a mile from its iconic old port. 

About 200 people have been evacuated from their homes in the area.

In 2018, two buildings in the centre of Marseille collapsed, killing eight people. 

But the country’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that the buildings that collapsed in 2018 were poorly maintained, which was not the case on this occasion.