Firemen try to douse a fire following a fire and an explosion at a residential building in The Hague on December 7, 2024. A three-storey apartment block in the Hague partially collapsed December 7, 2024 after a fire and explosion, firefighters said, with first responders searching for people under the rubble. (Photo by Jeffrey GROENEWEG / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
The Hague: At least one person has died after an explosion and fire caused a building to collapse in The Hague, the city's mayor said Saturday, with little chance of finding more survivors under the rubble.
"It has just been announced that one dead person has been recovered" from the debris, 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," added the mayor.
Three injured people had been taken the hospital, he said.
"It is unbelievable what happened there," added Van Zanen.
He said that emergency responders were continuing to work on-site but that "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 possibly be buried under the rubble, saying the recovery operations would take a long time.
Nor did he give any clues as to a possible cause for the explosion and building collapse.
"Detectives are on the scene to investigate" what could have caused the inferno, he said.
