At least four people have died after an explosion and fire caused a building to collapse in The Hague with little chance of finding more survivors, the city’s mayor has said.
The cause of the explosion in the Mariahoeve neighbourhood of the Dutch city early on Saturday morning was unclear.
Police confirmed that four bodies had been pulled from the wreckage, as fears mounted that the toll could rise much higher.
The mayor, Jan van Zanen, told reporters: “It is not known how many people are still under the rubble, but the reality is that there is only a slim chance of survival for them … It is unbelievable what happened there.”
He said three injured people had been taken to hospital and emergency responders were continuing to work on-site but “what started as a rescue operation has now become a recovery operation. We are expecting the worst-case scenario.”
The mayor declined to speculate on how many people could be buried under the rubble, saying the recovery operations would take a long time. Nor could he say what caused the explosion, adding that detectives were on the scene to investigate the possibilities.
Residents of the north-eastern neighbourhood said they heard a huge bang and screams before dawn. One woman told local media she thought there had been an earthquake.
The Hague’s fire service said: “At this moment, the emergency services are busy rescuing and searching for people and fighting the fire.”
An Agence France-Presse reporter on the scene said there were dozens of fire engines as firefighters battled the blaze from the ground and from higher positions. Debris was strewn across the street and several windows in the vicinity had been blown out, the reporter said.
Huge plumes of smoke were billowing from a large hole where the building stood, with an acrid smell in the air.
City officials said: “The fire is releasing a lot of smoke in the immediate vicinity. Residents are advised to close windows and doors and turn off ventilation.”
Homes on several floors appeared to have been destroyed by the explosion, according to the Regio15 news website. Early images from the public broadcaster NOS showed several dozen firefighters tackling a large blaze and breaking down doors to gain access to the block.
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A picture from the local news agency ANP showed one person being taken away on a stretcher into an ambulance.
The prime minister, Dick Schoof, wrote on X that he was “shocked by the terrible images of a collapsed apartment building in The Hague.
“My thoughts go out to the victims, all other people involved and the emergency services who are now working on the scene.”
He said he had been in contact with the city authorities and promised any help necessary.
The Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, wrote on social media: “We sympathise with those personally affected or are worried about their loved ones.”
Dutch authorities deployed a specialised urban search and rescue team to the scene, including four dogs trained to find victims. The team was previously used during the devastating earthquake in Turkey in 2023.
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