French rescue workers recover 4 bodies from collapsed Marseille buildings

French rescue workers have found four bodies in the rubble of buildings in the southern city of Marseille that collapsed following an explosion, police said on Monday.

Authorities had said earlier that they had identified eight people missing in the wake of Sunday's explosion, which destroyed two residential buildings and caused a third to partially collapse. The cause of the blast is still unknown.

The discovery of four bodies is "gruesome, difficult and dramatic," said housing minister Olivier Klein, speaking to reporters in Marseille, adding that the role of the government was to support the victims, their families and those who have been evacuated from their homes.

The rescue operations were continuing with "care and determination" and 40 buildings near the site have been evacuated, he added.

The collapse caused a fire which has complicated rescue efforts and which was continuing to burn on Monday morning.

Five people were taken to hospital on Sunday with serious but not life-threatening injuries.