Latest update:
On Saturday morning around a quarter past six, a major fire broke out at Tarwekamp in The Hague following an explosion, which destroyed several apartments in a flat. Emergency services from all over the region have been deployed and are searching among the rubble for an unknown number of missing people. Four victims have now been transported to hospital.
It concerns a three-storey apartment where elderly people and a family with children live, local residents told the ANP news agency. An ANP photographer reports that five to seven apartments in the flat have been destroyed. There is a lot of smoke, making it almost impossible to see the havoc caused by the explosion and fire. Images show that surrounding shops have also been damaged. Local residents are now being transported to another location by bus.
Several people have already been rescued from the collapsed apartments. The fire brigade is still searching for people under the rubble. A rescue group consisting of a construction engineer and four dog handlers from Urban Search and Rescue was also deployed.
It is unclear how many people are missing. Regio15 reports that a so-called Code 20 has been issued by the emergency services. This means that more than twenty victims are taken into account. Due to the large amount of smoke, local residents are advised to close windows and doors and turn off ventilation. Nothing is yet known about the cause of the explosion.
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