Eight people remained missing after the building they lived in exploded and collapsed early Sunday near the port of Marseille, leaving mounds of burning debris hampering rescue operations, officials said. More than 100 firefighters worked against a ticking clock to extinguish flames deep within the rubble of the five-story building, but more than 17 hours later “the situation is not yet stabilized,” Marseille Prosecutor Dominique Laurens said at an evening news conference. Earlier in the day, officials had thought that between four and 10 people may have been trapped. Laurens said police have yet to confirm the apparent disappearance of a ninth person who lived in a next-door building. Five people suffered minor injuries from the collapse, which occurred shortly before 1 a.m. Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said two buildings that share walls with the one that collapsed were partially brought down before one later caved in, another complication in the search and rescue operation. The buildings were among evacuated structures. Drones and probes have been used to examine the scene for signs of life. The burning debris was too hot for dogs in the firefighters' canine team to work until Sunday afternoon, though smoke still bothered them, the prosecutor said. “We cannot intervene in a very classic way,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said during a morning visit to the site. He said the fire was burning a few meters under the mounds of debris and that both water and foam represent a danger to victims’ survival. An investigation has been opened for involuntary injury, at least initially sidestepping possible criminal intentions. A gas explosion was among the tracks to check, said Laurens, the prosecutor. But the start of the probe also was limited by the heat of the blaze. “The flames weren't pink. They were blue,” Payan said. Firefighters, with the help of urban rescue experts, worked through the night and all day Sunday in a slow race against time. The delicate operation aimed to keep firefighters safe, prevent further harm to people potentially trapped in the rubble and not compromise vulnerable buildings nearby, already partially collapsed. Some 30 buildings in the area were evacuated, Darmanin said. Lauren, the prosecutor, said that firefighters “are really in a complicated situation, dangerous for them.” Work is progressing but with safety precautions, she said. “We heard an explosion ... a very strong explosion which made us jump, and that's it,” said Marie Ciret, who was among those evacuated. “We looked outside the window at what was happening. We saw smoke, stones, and people running.” The building that collapsed is located on a narrow street less than a kilometer (a half-mile) from Marseille's iconic old port, adding to an array of difficulties for firefighters and rescue workers. The prosecutor said the building and those next door “are not at all substandard buildings.” Robots were reportedly being deployed. A crane was brought in to clear rubble and firefighters were at one point seen in TV video hosing parts of the debris from a window in a nearby apartment as plumes of smoke rose skyward. “We’re trying to drown the fire while preserving the lives of eventual victims under the rubble,” Lionel Mathieu, commander of the Marseille fire brigade, said during a televised briefing. “Firefighters are gauging minute by minute the best way to put out the fire,” Payan, the mayor, said. “We must prepare ourselves to have victims,” he said grimly. The collapsed building is located in an old quarter in the center of France’s second-largest city. The noise from the explosion resounded in other neighborhoods. Nearby streets were blocked off. French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne both tweeted their thoughts for people affected and thanks to the firefighters. In 2018, two buildings in the center of Marseille collapsed, killing eight people. Those buildings were poorly maintained — not the case with the building that collapsed Sunday after an explosion, the interior minister said.

Runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain took a step closer to reclaiming the French league title after beating rival Marseille 2-1 on Sunday in a game lacking the intensity befitting their bitter rivalry and featuring two controversial decisions that went PSG's way. Having lost the title to Lille last season, PSG is 15 points clear of second-place Marseille with six games left. Victory at Angers on Wednesday will seal the title for PSG if Marseille draws at home to Nantes; and a draw is enough if Marseille loses. Also read:Benzema rallies Madrid past Sevilla, closer to league title Neymar and Kylian Mbappe scored in a subdued atmosphere at Parc des Princes, but Mbappe's penalty awarded deep into first-half injury time for 2-1 was questionable. A video review gave hand ball against Valentin Rogier after the ball hit his elbow, even though it appeared to hit his thigh first. Mbappe scored with a low shot to the left for his league-leading 21st goal. Marseille's players were angry when central defender William Saliba's goal in the 85th from Dimitri Payet's excellent free kick was ruled out for a very thin offside. The VAR call appeared to show Saliba's shoulder was just ahead of PSG's Danilo Pereira. Marseille's defeat leaves it in second place — three points ahead of Rennes — and automatic Champions League qualification. PSG is out of the Champions League and the players were fully rested to take on a Marseille side which played in Greece on Thursday to reach the Europa Conference League semifinals. The visitors were comfortable until Italy midfielder Marco Verratti lofted a 12th-minute pass over the defense and Neymar was at full stretch to lob goalkeeper Pau Lopez, who misread the pass. It was Neymar's seventh goal in the five games since PSG was knocked out of the Champions League by Read Madrid in the last 16. But PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made a mistake on a corner and, from the scramble, Croatia center half Duje Caleta-Car poked home in the 31st. Record seven-time Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi had a goal ruled out for offside close to halftime. PSG fans insulted Marseille's players throughout but did not back their own team, exasperated by another collapse from a strong position in the Champions League against Madrid last month. “I wasn't expecting this atmosphere. It wasn't the right time to do this,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “We understand they (the fans) have their reasons, maybe they're not getting answers. But as a player I don't agree.” Earlier, Andy Delort's late goal gave Nice a hard-fought 2-1 home win against Lorient and kept it in contention for a Champions League spot. Delort's second goal of the game saw him head in Denmark striker Kasper Dolberg's cross in the 88th minute. Also read:Favourites to reach the UEFA Champions League 2022 Finals The win moved fourth-place Nice two points behind Rennes in third and a Champions League playoff spot. Nice currently holds the automatic Europa League place, one point ahead of Strasbourg and Monaco with six games left. Fifth-place Strasbourg drew 1-1 at Troyes on Sunday. Monaco hosts Nice in the Riviera derby on Wednesday. Delort netted from the penalty spot in the 54th after midfielder Khephren Thuram was fouled. Left winger Armand Lauriente equalized in the 61st. Elsewhere, striker Moussa Dembele scored a hat trick as Lyon routed Bordeaux 6-1 to go some way to appeasing its disgruntled supporters. Dembele, forward Karl Toko Ekambi and midfielder Lucas Paqueta scored in the first half. Midfielder Romain Faivre and Toko Ekambi netted after the break for Lyon, before Sekou Mara grabbed a late consolation with a penalty and Dembele scored again in stoppage time. Lyon is eighth and only has an outside chance of qualifying for Europe next season, much to the disappointment of its fans. Two prominent groups — Bad Gones and Lyon 1950 — did not attend the game. Lyon's fans are generally unhappy with the players and how the club is being run. Fans deployed an insulting banner toward the players during Thursday's home defeat to West Ham in the quarterfinals of the Europa League, and tried to invade the field afterward. Bordeaux has conceded a league-high 77 goals and remains deep in relegation trouble in 19th. It hosts fellow struggler Saint-Etienne on Wednesday. OTHER MATCHES Elsewhere Sunday, last-place Metz and relegation rival Clermont drew 1-1. In matches between midtable teams, it was: Montpellier 0, Reims 0; and Nantes 1, Angers 1.

Substitute Kevin Strootman steered in a late winner as Marseille strengthened its grip on second place in the French league by beating third-placed Rennes 1-0 on Friday.