Several people have died in southwestern France after an explosion and fire ripped through a residential street, Euronews reports.
The powerful blast occurred on Sunday night in the town of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque near the Spanish border, authorities said.
The explosion caused a fire in three small buildings on one of the Pyréneés town's main streets. The bodies of seven people -- including a baby and another child -- have so far been pulled from the rubble.
One man was wounded after jumping from a second-storey floor to escape the flames, with at least thirty others suffering minor injuries.
Public prosecutor Jean-David Cavaillé told reporters that the number of victims is "provisional" and "may, unfortunately, change".
"There are one or two people [missing] and we need to know if they are alive," he added.
The town hall said a number of local residents had been provided with accommodation after being evacuated by firefighters.
An investigation into "arson resulting in death" has been launched, Cavaille told a press conference on Monday.
But he added that it was "too early" to determine whether the cause of the explosion was "accidental or criminal".