Fireball Explodes Across Roof of University in France

A large fire broke has broken out on the rooftop of a university in the French city of Lyon.

Videos and photos posted on social media on Jan. 17 show thick black smoke billowing from the flaming building top, before a large fireball explodes with a bang across the top of the roof.

Below the exploding fireball that spews out a black mushroom cloud, stands a crowd of students, already evacuated from the building on the university campus in central eastern France.

According to Reuters, police and university sources said that the explosion was caused by a gas bottle on the roof of the science library in La Doua campus in Villeurbanne.

Firemen are on the scene, and the explosion has now been brought under control.

The university evacuated nearby buildings, and set up a 33o-foot perimeter after the fire broke out sometime around 9 a.m.

A tweet posted by the University at 10:20 a.m. local time said that the fire was under control, and that there were only 3 minor injuries. Other buildings, initially evacuated, were no longer affected, it said.

The university said that the fire on the Mendel building was due to the renovation work.