Paris bakery blast which killed four caused by gas pipe break

Inquiry reveals the gas pipe broke due to ground subsidence caused by a water leak

(FILES) This file photograph taken on January 12, 2019, shows a general view of debris and car wreckage following the explosion of a bakery on the corner of the streets Saint-Cecile and Rue de Trevise in central Paris. The Paris public prosecutor said December 30, 2019, that an expert report commissioned by investigating judges established that the explosion in January 2019, in Rue de Trévise in Paris was due to the "rupture of a gas pipeline" and was linked to "failures" by the city of Paris and a public works company.

/ AFP / Carl LABROSSE

A view of the debris and car wreckage following the explosion at a bakery on the corner of the streets Saint-Cecile and Rue de Trevise in central Paris. AFP / Carl LABROSSE

Nicky Harley

Dec 30, 2019

French investigators have confirmed that a powerful explosion at a bakery in Paris that killed four people and injured dozens almost a year ago was caused by a gas pipe break.

The blast in January devastated a street in north central Paris, damaging dozens of neighbouring buildings and forced many families to find temporary accommodation for months.

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Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said in a statement on Monday that the gas pipe broke due to ground subsidence caused by a water leak several years before.

Judicial experts have found that Paris street maintenance services and a private company in charge of the work failed to properly address the subsidence in 2016.

Firefighters were on the scene to investigate a suspected gas leak at the bakery when the explosion occurred.

Two firefighters died in the blast.