Paris - Seven people were injured, two of them seriously, when an explosion ripped through the dormitory room of a student at a university in the southern French city of Montpellier early Wednesday, French media reported.

The victims were identified as students from eastern Europe. France-Info radio reported that one of them, a native of Russia, was in a coma and in grave condition.

Police were searching for another student, who apparently fled the scene.

According to investigators, the accident occurred during a birthday party for one of the students, when the resident of the room, a chemistry major, apparently tried to construct a homemade bomb.

Scores of students living in the dormitory were evacuated after the explosion, which occurred in the early morning hours. (dpa)