Three hurt after explosion, fire on boat in The Hague

Three people got hurt in an explosion and fire on a recreational boat along the Veenendaalkade in The Hague on Sunday afternoon. “One person was taken to hospital with burns to their hands and face,” a spokesperson for the fire department told Omroep West. “The other two injured people went to hospital on their own.” A fourth person on the boat escaped unharmed.

The explosion happened around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Bystanders reported hearing a loud bang and seeing flames burst from the recreational boat, releasing a lot of smoke.

The fire brigade quickly extinguished the fire. The explosion and fire severely damaged the boat. The police are investigating what happened.

City councilor Richard de Mos (Hart voor Den Haag) called for more checks on the illegal occupation of recreational boats. “Recreational boats are regularly illegally occupied and squatted, especially by migrant workers who have become unemployed,” he told local newspaper Dagblad070. He also said, “We obviously don’t know the exact circumstances yet.”