Firefighters in the southern town of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque have retrieved an eighth body from a row of apartment blocks that were destroyed by an explosion and a fire in the early hours of Monday. A child and a baby were among the other victims.
One man in his 30s was taken to hospital in a critical condition after leaping from a second-storey window to escape the fire and at least 37 other people were injured.
The Perpignan prosecutor Jean-David Cavaillé told the press on Tuesday that they "had some elements" that could point to criminal involvement and that an investigation was underway.
At least eight bodies, including a child and a baby were found in three gutted buildings, one of which was about to cave in and needed to be secured, firefighters warned.
"Our thoughts go out to the victims and their families," the mayor of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
"We will do everything we can to help them in these tragic circumstances," he said, adding that psychological support would be provided.
'Horror'
Residents reported hearing a blast around 1:30 am on Monday that set buildings ablaze on both sides of a street in the small seaside town, around 15 kilometres from the city of Perpignan.
"I heard a very loud explosion, then I saw huge flames," said one neighbourhood resident.
"The buildings were ravaged by the flames. It was total panic."
The witness said construction work had been going on in a fast-food restaurant on the ground floor of one of the buildings on Sunday.
Gas bottles were seen near the buildings but it is uncertain if they contributed to the explosion.
Video surveillance footage from the town centre is currently being analysed, however, local media reported that one of the cameras in rue Arago, near the fire had been vandalised.
The French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin visited the scene on Monday afternoon and announced that a special investigation team would be sent from Paris to help local authorities.
Darmanin expressed "the nation's solidarity" with the families of the dead and injured, saying "the entire country is touched by this tragedy".
Prime Minister Jean Castex said "his thoughts went out to the victims and their families."
