One killed in Haaksbergen house fire

A large fire in a home on Karel Doormanstraat in Haaksbergen left one person dead on Wednesday evening. The victim hasn't been identified yet, ANP reports.

The fire department received a report about the fire around 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Due to the enormous heat and flames, firefighters could not enter the home immediately and had to extinguish the fire from the outside. When they later managed to get into the home, they found the victim. The home was destroyed by the fire.

Three surrounding homes had to be evacuated. These homes sustained smoke damage. The residents were given shelter elsewhere.

A total of 30 firefighters were sent to the scene. Due to the extremely cold temperatures in the Netherlands last night, the fire department wanted to be able to rotate its staff. A salt truck was also deployed to the scene, to prevent extinguishing water turning into ice on the road, according to newspaper AD.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.