Gas explosion hits Paris – with city already on high alert

FIVE people have been injured after an explosion rocked the heart of Paris.

The explosion took place at around 12.30 (local time) not far from the Montparnasse area on the left bank of the River Seine in the sixth arrondissement.

Five people have been reported injured following the blast at Ferrandi Culinary School. 

Firefighters and ambulance crews rushed to the scene as local residents were evacuated. 

YA UNE EXPLOSION ON EST ÉVACUÉSpic.twitter.com/oNYCC2Ecay

— 1-800-HENTAIBLING (@RetourDeBaton) April 1, 2016

Violente explosion dans un immeuble du 6eme arrondissement de Paris. pic.twitter.com/QGqlt3ImtO

— Pierre K. (@Pierre_Kch) April 1, 2016

SHOCK: A violent explosion was heard just after 12pm (local time)

ROCKED: This pictures shows extensive damage to at least one building

Plumes of smoke can be seen across the city billowing into the sky.

"I felt my floor shake and heard a loud noise, then it smelled like smoke outside," Jenna Binion, a local resident, told The Local.

"There are a lot of people in the streets and I can hear a lot of sirens."

Explosion rue de Vaugirard.@BFMTV @itelepic.twitter.com/jPDC1B6WOk

— Vinz## (@vincentvinz93) April 1, 2016

Twitter users speculated that the explosion was caused by a severed gas pipe. 

Tensions are running high in the French capital after a series of attacks were co-ordinated in November, killing 130 people.

Last month Belgium also suffered at the hands of sick jihadis who launched two bloody attacks on Brussels.

One of the 20 people who died in the attack on the Metro in Brussels was dad-of-one and Briton David Dixon. 

The second terror attack in Brussels was on Zaventem airport when two explosives disguised at suitcases were detonated by suicide bombers, killing 11 people.