capital. this is g w news live from berlin and at least three people are dead in an explosion and paris forty you say a spanish woman died along with two firefighters who were busy evacuating people from the scene and dozens more are injured some critically as french police investigate we'll bring you the latest also coming up. the runner up in congo's election goes to court to challenge the results of the disputed outcome has sparked on the rest with several deaths reported so far. and heavy snow brings chaos to

parts of europe our reporter visits an austrian village that's been partly evacuated for fear of avalanche and. the snow has accumulated it's sitting there and it could fall off the mountain onto these houses at any time. i married to evanston it's good to have you with us. the death toll has risen to at least three in a powerful explosion and fire that ripped through a building in paris spain's foreign ministry says a spanish woman was among the dead well this comes after french officials said two firefighters have been killed the cause of the blast is not yet known but police suspect it was sparked by a gas leak. in the a scene of carnage in central paris a big career as a woman cries for help from

a force for a balcony and a car lies overturned. bewildered peroration has come to get a closer look before the police move them on. a nearby hotel walker said he saw firefighters on the street early this morning investigating something. we thought maybe it was a false alarm so somebody called the firefighters. we thought ok we went back then one hour later out of nowhere i heard a big explosion and then a lot of pressure came out of me and black smoke and glass just. glass. while hundreds of a marriage and services walk through the debris trying to fight the blaze the scale

of the devastation started to a marriage victims received aid while being rushed to hospital scores more people were injured many critically. two firefighters are known to be among the dead. people were naked from the blast we managed to carry them these people were unconscious and on the ground but their eyes were still open not closed. despite a heavy police presence around the scene authorities have confirmed that the blast is not terror related. he says at this stage we can say that it is obviously caused accidentally by a gas leak. we must be careful since the investigations are intended to determine the precise origin of this dramatic

fire and this explosion does it expose you until then it's a tragedy that will serve as a deadly reminder of the danger that emergency services can. every day. for the very latest from paris we're joined now on the line by our correspondent lisa lewis so lisa i understand you are actually at the scene of the explosion tell us what's happening on the ground now. yeah absolutely i'm standing about one hundred meters away from where the explosion happened this morning at nine o'clock local time the area is still cordoned off there's still dozens of police offices and file workers here but they have to wrapping up things and think that slowly back to normal obviously people are still being treated in different hospitals across the city as you said earlier and we know that two people died in the incident and that about ten d. glass fill in the very critical condition the government has said that they're

trying to secure because jason buildings adjacent to where the explosion happened because apparently there is some theory that these people and these buildings my different be sterilized by those and could crumble in the next time in the coming days and we've also been hearing officials saying that they believe a gas leak caused the blast it has that's now been verified. but prosecutors are office here in paris has opened an investigation into the match and will look into this more closely over the coming days and weeks but yes the authorities at seeming seem to privilege the theory that the gas leak really cool because the crew firefighters had been deployed to the scene just before the explosion they went into a building and they seem to have by creating and were investigating a gas leak where as inhabitants were waiting outside not fund the explosion happened to look very likely at this really will cause that gas leak and

a gas explosion is really what caused this incident this morning and obviously this comes at a very tense time here in the french capital because across paris at this very moment the yellow protest is demonstrating for a nine such a day in a row. that's right as well after all several weeks of these demonstrations that authorities were bracing for the worst fearing violence what are you hearing about how the demonstrations have been going so far today. the first two hours were quite peaceful it seems and now we are getting first reports and first pictures actually from right the police and the demonstrators and the clashes between the police and them trying to tame paris but also in other parts of. apparently the police are trying are trying to limit the the area where you know purchase the can

can move here and has kind of trying to seal the area around the accident so that they stay on the this are being in the way of parents really but we will have to wait a little longer to see how it gets the government is fearing the worst really a new level of violence they've deployed five thousand. pairs and eighty thousand across all. right lisa lewis reporting for us from the french capital many thanks indeed. and now to some of the other stories making news around the world in nigeria at least a dozen people are dead after an overturned oil tanker exploded in auto pani in the country's southeast numerous people were scooping up leaking fuel at the time of the blast officials say more than twenty have been taken to the hospital with serious burns. serious says israeli warplanes have fired missiles at the capital damascus the state news agency reports that some missiles struck

a warehouse near the airport but that others were shot down by air defenses. seven people including four foreign tourists have been killed in a bus crash in cuba the driver told a local radio station that he lost control on a wet and winding road in the east of the island the poor state of cuba's roses often blamed for causing accidents. turning now to congo where an opposition candidate who came in second has asked for a recount in recent presidential elections today was the last day for a runner up marching for you allude to challenge the results he had been expected to win but another opposition candidate that katie took first place the government has asked the international community to back the outcome as it presently stands. for more we're joined now by correspondent wendy bash who's in the congolese

capital kinshasa so wendy the runner up for you lou has just appealed to the constitutional court asking them to know the provisional result what's next. i ever want to get. caught up with that how you are i say that he by what you do yes you did they didn't come to. see me if i was there and. what they did you know. that they would have to get to really go through with it i think we would do outweighs the or maybe just before. we. go we only really made you what we all would be to. what they did. well the protests in the wake of this dispute as a result have turned very violent and last night the u.n. security council met to discuss congo it's calling on all sides to remain peaceful

but just how great is the risk of more civil unrest. i think we are really you know i gotta go to the very me through it all so in your in these some video i can just but i don't think that we have get you all of that you got we got any way for what. they did. to the trees so everybody knows we were there and didn't want to. go to recall and the way the easy way to people in the uk i don't think that we've had five days. well when the along with this presidential election there was also the parliamentary vote which took place and in that race it was the ruling coalition of

outgoing president kabila which won a large majority so what does this mean for the future of congo. he told their. memory you know. they are monitoring the activity. in your decision to see where. they. go we go we. ought to. be going you know i would marry. her and there we are. you way i really. want to be pretty. cool. wendy bashi reporting from kinshasa thank you so much. now a days of heavy snow

have brought chaos to parts of europe and there's no sign that the situation will improve anytime soon more than twenty people have now died in what is some of the heaviest snowfall in two decades and forecasters are warning that up to a meter more could be on the way in parts of austria fresh avalanche warnings were issued overnight silence has fallen over the north side of all tall say this part of the village lies in the path of a potential avalanche that authorities say he could trigger without warning more than one hundred people have had to evacuate a few come back now and then to clear their roofs or driveways and a constant battle with the snow. it has been snowing now here for nearly two weeks the residents tell us they haven't seen anything like it in over a decade is a break in the weather now the sun is out but even if the sun shines it does not mean the danger of avalanches is gone the snow is accumulated it's sitting there and it could fall off the mountain onto these houses at any time. breaks in the

snowfall have been only temporary here and say the residents are getting on with their lives even if that means hard work. thank you but i'm used to a lot of snow from afar off but it's a bit rough this time because we've had so much at once so far my calling going through the overnight shift we're trying to clear just the top layer of the new stuff so it's cuz if it rains into this then it will become really heavy things that will hopefully move to. the village is normally packed with tourists at this time of the year and stayed luxury hotels like this one have opened their doors to evacuees free of charge. here and i'll tell say we're there for each other all year round and the sibila if we have a best pipe or something here the volunteer firefighters stack and so as local firms help out whether it's plumbers or electricians whatever it might be so half

months in the oil or so now it was very clear to us that it's our turn to make a contribution and to give something back to the community. he has pulled together before in two thousand and six he had to evacuate for a few days it's that community spirit that locals say will help them through again avalanche are not k w s have sent us that report from southern austria and a short while ago he gave us the latest on some of the community is trapped by snow in the mountains there the towns are completely cut off from the outside world they're living off the resources they have there earlier in the week there was two thousand two hundred people in some of these trapped villages but the austrian military is on top of it the now report there's one thousand five hundred people and some of these tribe builders the snow is still coming down another meter is forecast it's no one knows when this is going to stop but it seems that austria is

taking it in stride and keeping on top of it. you're watching d.w. news coming to you from berlin we'll be back again at the top of the hour with another update omarion evan steen from the entire team thanks for watching.