Rescuers work on the site where an explosion and fire destroyed an apartment block, killing at least six people, on the Tarwekamp in The Hague on December 9, 2024. (Photo by Josh Walet / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
The Hague: The death toll from an explosion and fire that destroyed an apartment block in The Hague climbed to six on Monday, officials said, revealing that a teenage girl was among the victims.
Rescue workers pulled a sixth body from the rubble in the early hours of Monday.
The sixth body was "recovered from the cellar of the collapsed building," the fire service said.
Police identified four of the dead as two men aged 45 and 31, a 41-year-old woman, and a 17-year-old girl. Four other people are in hospital, two in a serious condition.
The fire was so intense that identification has only been possible via DNA tests, complicating the process.
The fire service said they had completed their search for bodies. "The emergency services did not find any more victims during the search in the collapsed apartment building," firefighters said in a statement.
"Dogs... were also deployed during the search in the unsafe part of the building. They also did not find anything. It was then decided to end the search."
Police are still uncertain as to what caused the explosion but the head of the public prosecutors' office told reporters on Sunday there were unspecified indications it was a criminal act.
Investigators want to speak to the driver of a car seen speeding away from the scene at 6:15am on Saturday.
A detailled hunt for clues to the cause of the explosion could only begin when the search for victims is complete, authorities have said.
There was however no evidence that the building housed a drugs lab, which has been the cause of previous explosions in the country, police said.
