At least eight people have been injured in an explosion in the French city of Lyon, according to the regional authority, Euronews reports.
The prosecutor’s office said a suspected parcel bomb was the cause of the explosion.
None of the injuries are life-threatening, it added.
The Paris counter-terrorism prosecutor has opened a probe into the blast.
Explosion à #Lyon angle rue Victor Hugo et rue Sala. Périmètre de sécurité mis en place. Pour votre sécurité éviter le secteur. pic.twitter.com/g9bAgH2oaf
— Préfet de région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes et du Rhône (@prefetrhone) May 24, 2019
“I was a block away and I heard it. They locked us in the store. I came out 10 minutes later and the police etc were arriving,” Canadian travel writer Kathy Buckworth told Euronews.
The explosion was “like a bomb, extremely loud,” she said.
The incident occured around 17h40 CEST on Friday, according to the French interior minister.
The explosion took place in the second arrondissement of Lyon on the angle where Rue Victor Hugo meets Rue Sala in a busy shopping area.
French President Emmanuel Macron described it as an “attack” with no fatalities.