PARIS – A French official says 18 people have been injured in an accidental explosion prompted by a mishandled bonfire at a town fair north of Paris.

An official with the prosecutor’s office of the Seine-Saint-Denis region said five of those injured Saturday were hospitalized with serious injuries. The blast occurred at a town carnival in Villepinte where local children and their families had gathered.

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The official said the explosion was found to be accidental and the apparent result of the mishandled lighting of a bonfire to mark the end of the carnival. The official was not authorized to be publicly named.

France is in a state of emergency after Islamic extremist attacks in recent years but authorities said there was no sign of arson or terrorism in Saturday’s explosion. </s> A bonfire at a spring carnival near Paris, France unintentionally explodes injuring at least 18 people. The blast occurred on Saturday afternoon and sent debris flying into the crowd at the annual Yellow Carnaval in Villepinte. The cause of the explosion is not yet known </s> An accidental explosion rocked a Paris suburb on Saturday and left at least 30 injured, some severely according to The Daily Mail. The explosion occurred at the Yellow Carnival in Villepinte, Paris during the lighting of a fireworks display dubbed “Mr. Carnaval.” Something went horribly wrong during the lighting and as you can see in the video above, the explosion was far more powerful than expected.

#Paris #Villepinte #explosion – a large straw doll was set on fire, this led to the explosion, which hurled the debris into the crowd -media </s> At least 18 people were injured when a bonfire exploded at a carnival held in northern France, French media say.

The blast occurred at the end of the Yellow Carnaval in Villepinte, north-east of Paris, on Saturday afternoon.

Video posted on social media showed the bonfire blowing up seconds after being ignited, sending debris flying.

A mother and her child are among those seriously injured and the town's mayor was also hurt, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

Agence France-Presse reported that five people were seriously injured, and that a number of people suffered facial wounds.

It added that an initial investigation has been opened by prosecutors, but the cause of the explosion is not yet known.

A police source told the BFM news network that the explosion may have been caused by the petrol used to help start the fire, which marks the end of the annual carnival in Villepinte. </s> Video

At least 18 people were injured when a bonfire exploded at a carnival held in northern France.

The blast occurred at the end of the Yellow Carnaval in Villepinte, north-east of Paris, on Saturday afternoon.

Video posted on social media showed the bonfire blowing up seconds after being ignited, sending debris flying.

A mother and her child are among those seriously injured and the town's mayor was also hurt, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

Agence France-Presse said an initial investigation had been opened by prosecutors, but the cause of the explosion was not yet known.

A police source told the BFM news network that the explosion may have been caused by the petrol used to help start the fire. </s> An accidental bonfire explosion at a town fair north of Paris injured 18 people, including three children, as the festive spring event turned into chaos, authorities have said.

Five of those injured, including one child, were taken to hospital with serious injuries but their lives are not in danger, said fire service spokeswoman Nathalie Crispin.

A few hundred people, including local families, the mayor and other officials, had gathered for the annual carnival in Villepinte and were getting ready to watch its climactic event – the lighting of a traditional bonfire, Ms Crispin said.

The fuel used to light the fire was apparently mishandled, however, prompting the explosion, she said.

Onlookers were hit by chunks of burning wood and suffered primarily from burns.

Ms Crispin and officials from the local police and the prosecutor’s office of the Seine-Saint-Denis region said the explosion was found to be accidental.

France is in a state of emergency after Islamic extremist attacks in recent years but authorities said there were no signs of arson or terrorism in Saturday’s explosion. </s> Paris (CNN) At least 13 people were hurt Friday in an explosion in the French city of Lyon, prompting a national investigation into possible terrorism.

The blast occurred in the early evening in the city's central shopping area. Eleven of the 13 injured were taken to hospital, including a 10-year-old child, the Paris Prosecutor's office said Saturday.

French police are still looking for the person suspected of carrying out the attack, according to a tweet from the French National Police verified Twitter account. Police also tweeted a photo of the man they believed to be "the author of the attack" and asked the public to call with any information.

French President Emmanuel Macron characterized the blast as an attack shortly after it happened, telling an interviewer: "I'm late because there was an attack in Lyon."

Emergency workers wheel a woman on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance in Lyon on Friday.

Investigators believe the explosion may have been caused by a parcel bomb packed with nails, a spokeswoman for the city prosecutor told CNN.

Read More </s> At least 12 people have been injured after a bomb exploded in the pedestrian in France's city of Lyon, reported TASS.

The bomb was hidden in a bag filled with nails and bolts.

The area around the Hugo and Sala streets intersection hit by the explosion is cordoned by the police.

An investigation has been initiated. </s> At least 13 people are injured in an explosion of a suspected package bomb on May 24, 2019, in the central shopping district in Lyon, France.
An explosion occurs at a carnival in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, injuring at least 18 people.