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MOSCOW: A four-story apartment building collapsed in the centre of Marseille overnight, Sputnik quoted French media reports.

The accident occurred shortly after midnight in the La Plaine district, the French 20 Minutes newspaper said on Sunday.

The newspaper cited the Mayor of Marseille Benoit Payan as saying that a fire at the site of the building collapse was preventing rescue services from carrying out a search operation.

A total of eleven people have been evacuated from the accident site, the Ouest France newspaper said.

Later in the day, the mayor was quoted as saying by the BFMTV broadcaster that at least five people were hospitalised and in need of relatively urgent care. The fire in the rubble has not yet been put out, still hampering search operations, Payan added.