At least 24 people were injured – including four critically – when an explosion rocked the fifth arrondissement in Paris on Wednesday afternoon, multiple news agencies report.

ABDULMONAM EASSA/AFP Getty

Smoke billows from rubbles of a building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris

Witnesses told the BBCthat they had smelled gas before the explosion, which occurred next to the Val de Grâce church.

Christopher Gaglione was inside his bar, which is next to the church, at the time.

Smoke billows from the rubbles of a building at Place Alphonse-Laveran in the 5th arrondissement of Paris

The fire was contained shortly after, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters, per the BBC. The Paris American Academy was founded in 1965 and offers courses in fashion design, interior design, fine arts and creative writing, Nunez said.

Mohammed Badra/EPA-EFE/ Shutterstock

French emergency services work on scene of a fire after a gas explosion in Paris 5th arrondissement area, Paris, France

Officials from the fifth arrondissement later confirmed that the source of the explosion was natural gas,according to ABC News.

This is a developing story.

source: people.com