It has been reported that a suspected parcel bomb exploded in the centre of the eastern French city of Lyon, injuring 13 people.
An 8-year-old girl aged eight including a number of persons suffered superficial injuries as a result of the explosion.
The parcel was reportedly full of screws, nuts and bolts and exploded around 17:30 (15:30 GMT) on the street in the historic city centre, between the Saone and Rhone rivers.
A man reportedly aged between 30 and 35 was seen arriving on a bicycle and left the bag. He is said to have been wearing a face mask and dark glasses.
French media quoted a receptionist at a nearby hotel as saying there had been a “deafening blast”.
“I saw people running and panicking and heard several cries,” Alexis Saillan told BFMTV.
According to BBC, the mayor of Lyon’s 2nd Arrondissement, Denis Broliquier, said he was certain the device had been designed to cause injury.
Several witnesses had told him, he said, that the device had been placed in a bag and left by a man filmed by municipal CCTV.
Police are currently hunting the cyclist who was seen leaving the parcel outside a bakery on a street corner, reports say.
Anti-terrorist prosecutors have taken over the investigation in the country’s third-biggest city.