Man causes explosion in Limburg home, hurting himself, cop

A man tried to blow up his home in Hoensbroek on Thursday night while emergency services were trying to talk him down. It is believed that he opened the gas. The man himself and a police officer were injured.

The police responded to the home on Prins Willemstraat in the Limburg town at around 9:15 p.m., after receiving a report that the man was threatening to blow up his house, the police said in a statement. As a precaution, the police and fire brigade evacuated the surrounding homes and cordoned off the area. The residents of around 15 homes were sheltered elsewhere.

At around 11:45 p.m., a SWAT team made their way into the man's home. There was an explosion, which caused a fire. A member of the SWAT team and the man were hurt. They were taken to hospital with unknown injuries. The fire brigade extinguished the fire.

"In contrast to earlier reports, the gas was not shut down by Enexis after consultation with the police and fire brigade", the police said. The cause of the explosion and circumstances around it are being investigated. The home was designated a crime scene.