Two people were injured in the Charlois district of Rotterdam after a huge explosion in a garage. That reports the local broadcaster Rijnmond. Due to the force of the explosion, which took place in South Rotterdam, a car flew from the garage into the street. Images show the remains of the car lying on the street. Dozens of windows in nearby buildings were shattered.
Rijnmond writes that the explosion could be heard in the wider area and that havoc was caused in Schammenkamp street. Rijnmond Safety Region reports does not yet know what the cause of the explosion is and calls on people to stay away from the affected buildings and to give emergency services space. The fire brigade is busy extinguishing the fire.
Rotterdam was the city where the most explosions took place last year — more than two hundred in total, according to figures from the Rotterdam police. The violent incidents are often drug-related. The damage from this explosion appears to be exceptionally extensive.
Recently, outgoing mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said in a council meeting that he was considering no longer “actively” communicating about explosions, according to the ANP news agency. This is because drug bosses “in a distant country” use the media to check whether an attack has been successful, in order to decide whether or not to pay the attacker. Last week, Aboutaleb reported that there had already been more than 25 incidents in the first weeks of this year, including explosions and shelling of homes.
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