One person was pulled from the rubble by Lille firefighters with only minor injuries. Another person, reported to be a doctor, remained missing since Saturday night. Officials had previously said there were no possible casualties. The search for others trapped in the rubble continues. An investigation into why the building collapsed will then begin. The high-rise in the city center was evacuated before dawn after a man returning home from a night out at 3am saw cracks appearing on the surface. He reported the matter to the emergency services, the prefecture of Lille said. The fire department responded and set up a cordon around the danger zone. Lille mayor Martine Aubry told French broadcaster BFM TV that the man’s spot saved lives. He has not been named by authorities. “I’m still shaking because if this gentleman hadn’t come home at 3 in the morning and contacted us, we wouldn’t have had this reaction and, well, obviously there would have been deaths,” Aubry said. “He then alerted the municipal police and firefighters, who decided to evacuate the building, believing there was a real danger.” In 2018, two dilapidated buildings collapsed in the southern French city of Marseille, killing eight people and drawing fierce criticism from local authorities and the French government. France’s then interior minister, Christophe Castaner, responded by ordering a building-by-building inspection across the city as well as a program to ensure safer conditions.
