At least three people died and three others were injured in the aftermath An explosion has occurred at an apartment building in The Hague, the Netherlands, authorities said.
Firefighters rushed to the three-storey building following an explosion that caused the collapse of several houses in the Tarwekamp area at around 06:15 (05:15 GMT) on Saturday.
The mayor of the city, Jan van Zanen, said that it is not known how many people are still missing.
The cause of the explosion is still unclear, but Dutch police said the car drove off at “high speed” shortly after, and have appealed for witnesses.
Jan van Zanen said there was little chance of survivors being pulled out of the rubble, and urged the public to prepare for the “worst case scenario”.
Earlier it was thought that there may have been about 20 people in these apartments at the time of the explosion, but the mayor refused to speculate on this.
Although the authorities said earlier that four people were injured, the mayor updated that number to three.
Dutch media reported that five apartments were destroyed in the blast.
Rescue teams with sniffer dogs have been deployed to sift through the debris, but parts of the site remain too dangerous to access.
A large excavator was brought in to remove the debris and lighting installed in the area.
14-year-old Adam Muller told AFP news agency that the explosion “felt like an earthquake”.
“I was sleeping and suddenly this rumor went viral,” he said.
“I looked out the window and saw flames. It’s very shocking,” he added.
Dutch national police commissioner Janny Knol said there was “disbelief and uncertainty” in the public.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima said in a statement: “We sympathize with all those affected personally or who fear the fate of their loved ones.”
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