It was a big “boom”, like a plane or industrial accident, which woke up this Sunday very early in the morning, the inhabitants of Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) and the surrounding area, reports France 3 Régions. It was shortly before six o’clock when a violent explosion, felt several kilometers away, occurred near a hotel in the city.
An empty car parked not far from the Exhibition Center, very close to the Kennedy Hotel, caught fire before exploding. The fire spread to a van as well as the facade of a former food store, our colleagues report. Firefighters intervened in large numbers to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading. Around forty occupants of the hotel still had to be evacuated for a few hours. For the moment, the reasons for this fire and this violent explosion are unknown.