A building in the center of the Dutch city collapsed for reasons that are still being investigated. Witnesses spoke of a strong explosion in an area of buildings.
At least five bodies were recovered from the rubble of an apartment building that suffered a collapse in The Hague, Netherlands, after a strong explosion which occurred this Saturday morning, as confirmed by the Dutch police.
The identity of the victims has not yet been determined. In the afternoon, one survivor was rescued from the rubble and transported by ambulance to a hospital. Efforts to locate more victims continue.
A large part of the five homes, all in duplexes, collapsed and, in total, 40 nearby homes were evacuated early in the morning for safety.
Fear in the Netherlands: an explosion caused at least five deaths in The Hague
During a press conference held this afternoon, The mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanensaid that three injured people had been hospitalized a few hours earlier. “The reality is that their chances of survival are very slim. We are preparing for the worst case scenario“, said.
He also confirmed that at this time there is no indication of any suspicious activity in the area, although this remains one of the lines of investigation.
Emergency services said they do not know for sure how many people are still under the rubble, but the number of victims could be around 20.
“Dismayed by the terrible images of the collapsed apartment building in The Hague,” Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on the social network X.
According to Dutch police, a vehicle left the scene at high speed just after the explosion. Officers are appealing to potential witnesses for help and recordings are being reviewed to try to identify the car, in case it could be linked to the explosions.
Source: Ambito
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