ALERT: France: Paris Metro Evacuated after Electrical Explosion (February 8, 2017)
February 8, 2017
France: Paris Metro Evacuated after Electrical Explosion
In Paris this evening, a reported electrical explosion occurred at a Metro Station, injuring at least eight from smoke inhalation. The incident occurred at the Metro’s Line 6 Place d’Italie stop. Police were quick to say that it was not a terror attack.
According to news.com.au (Australia):
Police moved quickly to dampen fears of a fresh terror attack.
The incident, on Line 6 in or near to the Place d’Italie subway stop, was due to a technical fault, police say. “This was not a (terrorist) attack,” the spokesman said. A spokesperson for the Paris metro operator RATP added: “There was a release of smoke. Maintenance workers are on the spot. Traffic has been interrupted on part of the line.”
It is unclear at this time exactly what caused the explosion, but security personnel have sealed off the area.
Early reports are that eight people have been injured, some suffering smoke inhalation.
France has been on high alert since the shooting of a knife-wielding attacker outside the Louvre museum at the weekend. A 29-year-old Egyptian, identified as Abdullah Reda al-Hamamy, was shot several times on Friday after he set upon soldiers with a pair of machetes in what French President Francois Hollande described as a terrorist attack.