World

Police arrest three people over apartment explosion that left six dead

A vehicle was seen speeding away from the scene of the blast in The Hague on Saturday morning.

Firefighters stand by the destroyed apartment building in which six people died as a result of an explosion (Phil Nijhuis/AP)
Firefighters stand by the destroyed apartment building in which six people died as a result of an explosion (Phil Nijhuis/AP) (Phil Nijhuis/AP)

Dutch police said on Tuesday that they have arrested three suspects who might have been involved in the explosion and fire that killed six people in an apartment building in The Hague over the weekend.

Authorities had said they were investigating “all possibilities” that could have caused the disaster, and the arrests indicate there might have been a criminal intent.

“More arrests are not excluded,” The Hague police said in a statement.

They did not elaborate on any reason for the arrests and said the three were seen as “possibly implicated in the explosion”.

Police also seized several vehicles, but they said that it was unclear whether they included the one which was seen driving away at high speed from the site shortly after the explosion.

Early Saturday, residents of the north-eastern neighbourhood of Mariahoeve in The Hague heard the blast and screams before dawn, and authorities were still working at the scene of collapsed homes on Tuesday.