dpa
Paris
Two buildings on a busy street collapsed in the centre of the northern French city of Lille early on Saturday, with one person injured and another missing.
The rescue operation involved specialized units and 40 emergency vehicles, the fire brigade said. After hours of searching, a lightly injured victim was pulled from from the rubble.
Another man is still unaccounted for, the newspaper La Voix du Nord reported.
The collapse occurred at about 9:15 am (0815 GMT) on a street heavily frequented by tourists shopping throughout the day, especially on weekends.
Renovation work was in progress at one of the two adjoining buildings, which are not far from the historic main square, according to the La Voix du Nord. An adjacent hotel was evacuated.
Residents of the buildings had already been evacuated overnight after one young person arriving in the early morning hours saw large cracks on the building, Mayor Martine Aubry said.
The judiciary has launched an investigation. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin thanked the fire brigade for their efforts and the student who raised the alarm during the night for his quick-witted action.
A photographer from the newspaper witnessed the collapse while on the way to the editorial office. First stones fell away from the facade and then the buildings collapsed.
The photographer was able to tell the rescue workers with certainty that nobody was in front of the buildings at the moment of the collapse.
