Defeated, Yalcin Aslan stands on the street on Tuesday morning, looking at his damaged building in the center of Tilburg. Monday night there was a resounding bang from an explosion at shisha lounge Simit Plaza, which also shattered many windows in the area. “I’m devastated,” he says in a first reaction.
The owner went home late Monday night after a long work day over Christmas. “I was home less than an hour and then the police called,” he says. “I was still awake. It’s terrible, first the corona blow and now this.”
Above the business, on the corner of Heuvel and Heuvelstraat, are two apartments. In any case, the upper apartment has glass damage. The rubble is also being cleared in front of the Pull&Bear store, diagonally opposite the building. There, the windows are out on the top floor, a cleaner shows.
“A good blow, feeling like your bed was lifting.”
Renske de Vries lives above the business. “It was quite a blow,” she recalls. “We felt a huge vibration and a certain pressure. My roommate even had the feeling that her bed was rising.”
Her apartment suffered no further damage. A single man lives above her, who, according to Renske, was not at home when the explosion took place around two o’clock in the morning. “I called him and told him what happened.”
Yalcin is already early on Tuesday at his sisha lounge to inspect the damage, but the emergency services have not allowed him to look inside yet. “Only the windows seem to be damaged,” he concludes cautiously. “It’s a listed building.”
“The whole city center is full of cameras”
Yalcin has no idea what caused the explosion. “But this should be easy to find out, because the whole city center is full of cameras.” Despite the setback, he continues to fight. “I want to open again as soon as possible. I have to. I will continue.”
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