AT LEAST five people have been injured after a huge explosion ripped through an apartment in the north of Paris.
More than 100 firefighters were on the scene as smoke billowed in the air on Rue de Nord on Saturday afternoon.
The blast is reported to have torn through the top floor of a three-storey block in the capital at about 2.30pm local time (1.30pm BST).
The street was cordoned off as emergency services surveyed the scene.
Images show the facade of the building smashed in the street, with debris strewn around it.
It's understood there was no fire after the explosion.
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Five people were hurt - with at least one victim rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
The man's condition was described as an "absolute emergency" by officials, according to local reports.
The extent of the injuries suffered by the four others is not yet clear.
Witnesses reported hearing the explosion occur at around 2.30pm.
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The cause of the incident is still being investigated.
But it has instilled panic among locals in Paris as the city is still healing from a horrific gas explosion on Rue Saint Jacques on June 21.
At least 50 people were injured and three were killed after the Paris American Academy was decimated by the blast.
Smoke soared over the French capital and while survivors were trapped in the rubble of wrecked buildings.
Officials have tried to calm the public and reassured them the latest incident was not a repeat of the deadly explosion.
A fire service spokesperson said: "The facts are not at all of the same magnitude as those of rue Saint-Jacques."
One firefighter told France Bleu there was no smell of gas noted "at this stage."
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