Dutch Authorities Detain 3 Over Deadly Blasts
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – Authorities in the Netherlands announced Tuesday that three people have been detained over the explosions and fire at an apartment block in The Hague that killed at least six people and injured four.
Local police said Tuesday they have made “a breakthrough” in the investigation into the disaster that partly destroyed a three-story apartment block in the Tarwekamp area in The Hague, known as the “world’s judicial capital” and the seat of the Dutch government and parliament.
An extensive investigation led detectives to three men who are now behind bars three days after the disaster, officials said.
Police declined to share details about the suspects or possible motives but did not rule out “more arrests will follow.”
“We have been investigating 24 hours a day since Saturday 7 December, since the explosion. The arrests result from this intensive investigation,” The Hague police chief Karin Krukkert added.
“They are in custody. That means that they only have contact with their lawyer. In addition, our investigation is, of course, still in full swing,” the police chief added.
Several vehicles were seized during the arrests, according to police officials. If the car that residents heard “speeding away” shortly before the explosion is also among them remains to be seen, Krukkert said. “That is also still very much part of the ongoing investigation.”
The police chief declined to say what caused the blasts. “All I can say is that an illegal drugs laboratory did not cause it.”
Krukkert said searching for evidence at the disaster site is dangerous and will take time. “It is important to us that the situation there is stable. Then, we will continue investigating traces [of explosives and other evidence] on site. We can then also get a better picture of the cause.”
Krukkert could not provide clarity on how many explosions turned the area into a wasteland culled with debris early Saturday, but earlier reports said at least two blasts were heard.
Although questions remain, the mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, called the arrests great news. “The police have arrested three suspects in a very short time in the search for the cause of the explosions at the Tarwekamp [area]. I commend this excellent detective work at a complicated location,” Van Zanen said in a statement.
However, he, too, said it was of great importance for those directly affected and their relatives that clarity about the cause be quickly provided.
“The arrest of these suspects is essential. This also provides peace of mind for residents.”
Yet the impact of the disaster will be felt for a long time, he said, adding that the municipality is “in close contact with the nineteen households that cannot return to their own homes for the time being. The same applies to the affected entrepreneurs.”
He said that at least some can return to their home or shop under supervision to collect supplies.
They will find a scene out of a horror film: Dutch King Willem-Akexander said he was “still shaking” on his legs after seeing the debris.
Apart from apartments, a bridal store and the door of a bar were completely destroyed. An artist’s studio was also totally decimated. Yet another ground-floor bar’s wine stock remarkably remained intact.
Earlier, the last survivor was found alive under the debris 12 long hours after the blasts that had devastated the community.
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