Gas explosion causes fire in Hengelo apartment building; Two hurt

A large fire in an apartment building in Hengelo left two people injured overnight. The fire department believes a gas explosion caused the blaze. Ambulances took the wounded to a nearby hospital, and paramedics checked a third person at the scene.

The explosion and blast damaged multiple apartments. The emergency services evacuated all 12 homes in the building on SUrinamestraat, the Twente fire department said.

The fire was first reported to the emergency services at around 00:30 a.m. on Thursday. Multiple explosions were heard in one of the homes, followed by flames that quickly spread to multiple floors of the building.

The fire department responded in large numbers and quickly escalated the situation to Grip 1, which means that all the responding emergency services coordinate and work under one commanding officer. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 2:00 a.m.

According to the fire department, the evacuated residents found shelter with nearby friends or family members, or the local security region organized a place for them to stay. Several residents could return to their homes early on Thursday morning.

The police will investigate the possible gas explosion to determine how it happened.