FILE PHOTO: An excavator operates at the scene of an explosion in a residential area in The Hague, Netherlands, December 7, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch police have arrested three people following an explosion that killed six people and injured four in an apartment building in The Hague, the police said on Tuesday.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the cause of Saturday's blast, which caused the apartment building to collapse and destroyed several neighbouring buildings in the residential area in a suburb of The Hague.
The police said the three people arrested late on Monday were possibly connected to the blast, but gave no further details.
Several cars have been confiscated following the explosion. The police said it was unclear whether any of the vehicles was a car witnesses said they saw speeding away from the scene shortly before the explosion.
Rescue teams halted their search for victims on Monday afternoon, a few hours after a sixth body was found in the rubble.
Gas grid company Stedin told Dutch news agency ANP on Tuesday that it had no indications that the explosion had been caused by a gas leak. Police have ruled out the possibility that there had been a drugs laboratory in one of the buildings.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
