One dead, four injured after Diemen apartment building fire

Emergency services discovered a body in an apartment building in Diemen on Wednesday morning. The building on Rode Kruislaan was evacuated because of a fire earlier on Wednesday. A person with serious injuries was also found in the building, in addition to three others reported injured earlier this morning, ANP reports.

The fire broke out around 3:45 a.m. in a ground floor apartment. Firefighters had it under control by 4:30 a.m. and kept it from spreading to the rest of the building.

The building was evacuated. Between 60 and 70 people were given shelter in the town hall, but many have now gone to family. The flat consists of 182 homes, 143 of which are rented to students, a spokesperson for housing association De Key said to NU.nl. Many of the students are away for holiday. Firefighters checked every home during the evacuation.

The housing association expects that the residents won't be able to return home today. The stairwell still has to be cleaned up after the fire. The building also currently has no gas or electricity.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. The police are investigating.