At least four dead in Hague explosion, building collapse
www.rfi.fr
At least four people died Saturday when an apartment complex in The Hague collapsed after a huge explosion and fire, authorities said, but firefighters managed to pull someone still alive from the rubble.

Four people have already been pulled out of the debris and taken to hospital, as elite teams with sniffer dogs deployed to rescue others trapped by the disaster. It was not known how many people were still missing nor what caused the explosion in the block of flats not far from the centre of the city.

Authorities warned locals to keep their windows shut and shut off ventilation systems due to the smoke.

Forensic investigators arrived on the scene to begin to probe a potential cause for the accident, an AFP reporter said. Several homes appeared to have been destroyed by the fire, which broke out around 6:15 am (0515 GMT), according to the emergency services. The three floors of the building consisted of shops on the ground floors and five two-storey apartments, authorities said, with living rooms on the second floor and bedrooms on the top.

Hospitals in the area were on standby to treat victims. Residents told local media the apartment block was mainly inhabited by elderly people and families with children. Around 40 residents of other blocks near the collapsed building have been evacuated. Some have been taken away by bus to an unknown location.

Update 20241208

At least five bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of an apartment block in The Hague, authorities said, as recovery efforts stretched into a second day on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, a fifth deceased person has just been recovered from the rubble,” the fire service said in the early hours of Sunday. “This brings the total number of victims to 10. Four of them were taken to hospital, one was examined on-site by the ambulance service,” they added.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20241208-toll-from-hague-building-explosion-rises-to-five

Uodate 20241212

The Hague (AFP) – Dutch police said Thursday that they had arrested a fourth suspect in connection with the deadly explosion that flattened an apartment block in The Hague, killing at least six people.

“The exact role of the (fourth) suspect in relation to the explosion and the other suspects is still being investigated,” police said. Police have appealed for information on a car that was seen speeding away from the scene after the explosion, which took place around 6:15 am on Saturday.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20241212-fourth-suspect-held-in-deadly-dutch-building-collapse