Valuables stolen during fire in student building in Amsterdam

The student flat on the Krelis Louwenstraat in Amsterdam-West where a fire broke out on Friday morning was broken into after the building was evacuated, Het Parool reported.

“It seems as if someone took advantage of the situation”, a police spokesperson said. “There were signs of a break-in. People who left in haste must have left their doors open or did not lock them. Thereby, valuables could have been stolen.”

The residents were absent from their homes for a number of hours.

The stolen items were personal belongings that were taken from multiple apartments. Police did not want to disclose how much and which items were stolen.

The fire broke out around 5:30 a.m. on the eighth floor of the flat. Therefore, hundreds of students had to leave the building in their pajamas and were temporarily accommodated in a nearby mosque.

The fire was extinguished within an hour. The arson may have been anti-LGBTQI+ related, according to police.

Four victims were hospitalized after the fire.