An explosion caused the collapse of an apartment building in the eastern French city of Dijon which killed 11 people, according to a final toll given yesterday.
Col Remi Lecarme, who led the rescue operation, told reporters there were also three injured, including one child in a serious condition.
The bodies of six women, three men and two girls - aged eight and ten - were pulled from the rubble of the four storey building. The collapse happened just before midnight on Saturday.
Neighbours said the disaster was caused by an explosion and the first rescue workers on the scene said there had been a strong smell of gas. The state gas authority however said there was no certainty about the circumstances. There were 10 apartments in the 1950s block.
About 50 rescue workers, some of whom took part in the Turkey earthquake rescue this year, used two mechanical diggers to remove chunks of masonry. Tracker dogs scrambled over the debris to sniff out any human presence.
As rescue workers continued yesterday evening to work under the glare of the arc-lights clearing away the rubble, the friends of one of those thought to have died in the blast, Mr Serge Moreira, stood watching from a safe distance.
"They couldn't get his body out, but they are sure they've found him," said one, Mr Didier Gaillardon.
According to another friend, Mr Moreira should never have been home at the time of the blast. "He was a party-goer and crazy about cars, never at home over the weekend."
On Saturday evening however, he was celebrating his birthday in his apartment. He and his friends had been due to go on to a night-club later.
Emergency workers were focusing on the debris of what was the apartment where the party took place. Fifty fire brigade members and 21 emergency medical workers were sifting through the rubble with bare hands to avoid provoking any further collapse. A team of psychiatrists were rushed in to help survivors and neighbours.