A residential building in The Hague partially collapsed after an explosion on Saturday morning. Four people were injured. The fire department is looking for possible additional victims.
A residential building has partially collapsed in The Hague.
Jeffrey Groeneweg / EPA
(dpa) At least four people were injured in an explosion and subsequent fire in a residential building in The Hague, Netherlands. In addition, around 20 people are missing. As the fire department announced, the three-story building partially collapsed after the explosion on Saturday morning. Five apartments were destroyed.
Firefighting work continued and rescue workers searched the rubble for more victims. There was talk of around 20 missing people who were being searched for with sniffer dogs. There was great devastation around the partially collapsed building. The cause of the explosion was initially unclear.
Meanwhile, police were searching for a car that drove away at high speed immediately after the explosion. Residents were asked to send possible video footage from the scene of the accident in which the car could be seen.
Repeated bomb attacks by criminals
In the Netherlands there have been repeated explosive attacks in criminal circles for a long time. You hit houses, company buildings and cars. The explosives or incendiary devices placed at house entrances, facades or shops at night cause property damage and generally no one is injured. According to police, the attacks involve drugs, intimidation and extortion. Explosives are even used in relationship disputes.
However, it remains unclear whether the explosion and subsequent fire in The Hague had a criminal background. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof was shocked by the disaster and offered the government’s help to the victims. The royal family also reacted with concern.
Emergency services extinguish the fire that broke out after the explosion.
Josh Walet / EPA
Belgium
