Arson in North Rhine-Westphalia
Around 20 injured in fire in accommodation for refugees
In Schleiden in the Eifel, a refugee accommodation burned down to the ground. A 35-year-old resident is said to have started the fire. He is being investigated.
Around 20 people were injured in a fire in a large refugee accommodation in Schleiden in the Eifel, ten of whom had to be treated in hospital. Police said a 35-year-old resident probably started the fire on Saturday.
He was arrested and a judge issued an arrest warrant on Sunday. A murder squad is now investigating the 35-year-old for seven counts of attempted murder, serious arson and grievous bodily harm. He initially did not comment on his motive during the interrogations.
18 people lived in the refugee accommodation in Schleiden
Around 380 asylum seekers live in the country’s central accommodation facility. They are housed in many small houses on the former barracks site. According to Mayor Ingo Pfennings, 18 people lived in the building where the fire broke out.
The fire alarm system in the building sounded the alarm at 10:43 a.m., the emergency services said. When the fire brigade arrived, the flames were already several meters high from the building. The elongated barrack burned to its full extent in the roof structure area.
The mayor reported that 110 firefighters were on large-scale operations for hours. Nevertheless, they could not have prevented the building from burning to the ground. Two neighboring residential buildings were also damaged. The Cologne district government has therefore accommodated some refugees in other facilities.
DPA
urb
Source: Stern
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