The first major collapseoccurredinDecember 1774, when an unstable tunnel crumbled, swallowing houses and people along what isnow the Avenue Denfert-Rochereau.
For those who want to find out, but are not willing to take the risk of going in unsupervised, there is a legal, tourist-friendly public entrance to the catacombs off Place Denfert-Rochereau.