Residents barred from burnt down Rotterdam homes

Police investigators are barring Rotterdam residents from returning to their apartments in the building that was damaged last Sunday by fire and an explosion.

They are saying the building is not safe enough. Residents can’t even enter to collect their belongings and pets. The building has to be prodded before even the investigators can enter, which means that the approximately 100 residents of the 58-homes will not be able to return home for another couple of days. For residents of the apartments that received the most damage, that could take months. Two apartments had burned out completely.

Pieter van Lieshout of housing corporation Havensteder underscored the danger. “The technical condition of the building is bad,” he said. He said full renovation is possible, so the building will probably not be demolished.

Eleven people were slightly injured and three badly when the explosion occurred on Sunday. The resident of the apartment where the explosion happened, is among the badly injured. His wounds were so severe that he has not been able to give clarity to police about what caused the incident. Police have not confirmed rumors that the man was a suicidal patient of mental institution GGD.

Residents were saying they were happy to be alive. The lucky ones were happy they had been able to escape with their pets as well, like a woman ANP interviewed on Monday, who was walking with her pet parakeet.