The neighbouring apartment blocks were located on Rue d'Aubagne in the historic 1st arrondissement of the city.
It was not confirmed whether there were any victims from the incident although it as been confirmed that at least two people were slightly injured.
MARSEILLE : C'est en réalité deux immeubles qui se sont effondrés dans le centre-ville. Les autorités demandent à la population d'éviter le secteur. pic.twitter.com/S4vi8MoICb
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) November 5, 2018
The cause of the collapse was unclear but it is believed the two buildings were in a very damaged state. Images posted on Twitter from Google street view claimed to show the poor state of the two buildings before the collapse.
Les deux immeubles qui se sont effondrés ressemblaient à ça avant, selon Google maps: pic.twitter.com/Wqum3usGAV
— Elodie Hervé (@elodie_herve) November 5, 2018
The public have been urged to avoid the area amid fears more buildings are at risk of collapse. Dozens of police and emergency workers were at the scene. One team of firefighters were equipped with search dogs, which are trained to locate victims.
According to the mayo of the 1st arrondissement Sabine Bernasconi the block a decree was taken out recently due to the perilous state of the building meaning it should not have been occupied at the time of the collapse.
Although reports on BFM TV claimed that out of the 12 apartments in the collapsed buildings ninewere occupied.
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