FRANCE: At least 15 people have died in a suspected gas explosion that ripped through an apartment block in Mulhouse, in north-eastern France, on Sunday.
Some 30 people are believed to have been living in the four-storey building, part of which collapsed in the blast. Several people are still missing.
More than 100 firemen with sniffer dogs combed the ruins overnight and pulled out eight dead bodies.
Rescuers have not yet abandoned hopes of finding survivors in the rubble.
The blast was caused by a gas leak on the lower floors of the building. The 1964 block had recently undergone renovation.
"It is very unlikely survivors will be found, given the scale of the damage, but we can always hope and believe there might be, because in this sort of accident there is always a survival zone," said one fireman. - (AP)