Frantic search for survivors after huge explosion at block of flats in The Hague as cops hunt ‘car seen speeding away’
RESCUERS are searching for survivors after a huge explosion ripped through a block of flats in the Netherlands.
Firefighters rushed to the three-storey building in The Hague at around 6.15am this morning after a huge bang and loud screams were heard.
Residents at the block in the city's Mariahoeve neighbourhood were asleep at the time.
Several apartments were completely destroyed in the explosion while others around it collapsed.
Balconies could be seen lying on the ground while walls had toppled over.
A blaze broke out following the explosion with firefighters putting it out.
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Rescuers are now looking for up to 20 people thought to have been in the block at the time of the blast.
Four have been pulled from the rubble so far with a line of ambulances parked near the building ready to take people to hospital.
Specialist search and rescue workers have brought dogs with them to sniff out those still trapped.
The cause of the explosion is not yet clear but Dutch media say cops are looking for a car which sped away moments after.
One woman told local media that she thought an earthquake had happened after the ground had shaken.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a statement he was shocked by the images of the disaster.
He said: “My thoughts go out to the victims, all other people involved and the emergency services who are now working on the scene."
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima also spoke about the incident, saying in a statement: “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”.
