France: Several injured in explosion in central Paris

Paris: A plume of smoke was rising up from central Paris on Wednesday after witnesses reported hearing a large explosion.

Seven people were left in critical condition, police said, with at least another nine injured.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the "fire is under control" but had not yet been extinguished.

Witnesses and local reporters said that they had seen the facade of a building collapse in the French capital's 5th arrondissement, also known as the Latin Quarter.

The building was on the Rue Saint-Jacques, a road leading from the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral — which itself suffered a devastating fire four years ago — to the Sorbonne University.

"I heard a huge explosion," said local bar employee Khal Ilsey. "And as I was leaving the restaurant, I saw flames at the end of Rue Saint-Jacques."

The cause of the blast was not immediately known, although local officials suspect it may have been caused by a gas explosion.

The Paris prosecutor's office said it was still too early to determine the origin for sure.

French broadcaster BFMTV reported that some 230 firefighters were on the scene to tackle the blaze.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told people to avoid the area and not get in the way of the massive police and firefighter deployment.