Police in the Netherlands have launched a search operation for a car that drove away from an apartment block just moments before a devastating explosion killed five people inside.
The force said they are hoping the vehicle might help with the investigation.
They have asked witnesses to come forward with camera footage from the surrounding areas in the hope of finding the car.
The cause of the explosion in The Hague yesterday morning remains unclear. However, mayor Jan van Zanen said investigators are looking into ‘all possibilities’.
Residents of the north-eastern neighbourhood of Mariahoeve in The Hague heard a huge bang and screams before dawn.
It was like an earthquake,’ said bystander Dimi, 53. ‘Something collapsed but we didn’t see where it came from. I know these neighbours. My kids go to school with them. My new car has also been seriously damaged,’ he added.
‘I was asleep and suddenly there was this huge bang,’ Adam Muller, a 14-year-old local said.
‘I looked out of the window and just saw flames. It’s a massive shock,’ he added.
So far five bodies have been recovered from the scene and a further five injured people have been rescued from the rubble.
A specialised urban search and rescue team to the scene, with four dogs trained to find victims, had been deployed to find victims but now the mayor said rescuers are no longer looking for survivors but for bodies, given the ‘slim chance of survival’ under what is left of the building.
However, one person was rescued alive hours after the explosion.
Residents told local media the apartment block was mainly inhabited by elderly people and families with children.
Around 40 residents of other blocks near the collapsed building were evacuated with some taken away by bus to an unknown location.
The incident has rocked the Netherlands with the King and Queen issuing a statement on the tragedy.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said: ‘Our thoughts are with those affected in The Hague after the explosion and fire this morning.
‘Including those who are afraid of the fate of their loved ones.’
Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a statement he was shocked by the images of the disaster. ‘My thoughts go out to the victims, all other people involved, and the emergency services who are now working on the scene,’ he said.
National police commissioner Janny Knol said there was ‘disbelief and uncertainty’ in the community.