"It felt like an earthquake": Stunned neighbors gather at The Hague apartment explosion
Residents in the Mariahoeve neighborhood of The Hague woke up to chaos Saturday morning after an explosion ripped through a three-story apartment building on Tarwekamp, causing a partial collapse and a massive fire. Neighbors described the scene as horrifying, with homes shaking and smoke engulfing the area. The building housed a mix of families and elderly residents, according to those living nearby.
The explosion, which occurred around 6:15 a.m., left five to seven apartments destroyed and sent debris raining down onto the street below. Emergency services have reported four injuries so far, with victims transported to the hospital. Authorities fear as many as 20 people could be trapped beneath the rubble, but the ongoing fire has delayed search-and-rescue efforts. “It felt like a small earthquake,” said a woman who lives on nearby Roggekamp. “I felt the entire building tremble. It’s terrifying for all of The Hague. I feel it in my heart.”
As emergency workers continued to battle the fire, specialist teams from USAR.NL, trained to locate victims in collapsed buildings, waited for the all-clear to begin searching the rubble. A spokesperson for the fire department emphasized the risks involved. “The building is too unstable to enter right now,” they said. “Once it’s safe, we’ll deploy search dogs and begin the rescue operation.”
By daylight, the scale of the destruction was evident. “There’s a giant crater where the apartments used to be,” said a photographer on the scene. “The damage is unbelievable—glass and debris are everywhere, and even parked cars have been crushed by falling rubble.”
Many local residents said they were jolted awake by the sound of the explosion. “I was just having coffee,” one man recounted. “Then I heard this enormous bang and people screaming across the street. I looked out and saw flames and smoke everywhere.”
An overpass resident described the impact of the blast. “It was a huge explosion. I’ve never heard anything like it. Even my blinds came flying down. I saw a lot of flames at first, then thick smoke, and soon after, the entire building collapsed.”
On the streets, displaced residents wandered in confusion and fear. A reporter on the scene noted that some were desperately searching for loved ones. “One man was looking for his father, who he thought might be in the café on the ground floor,” the reporter said. “He couldn’t get through to him and was panicked.”
A father walking through the area with his son said the explosion had shaken their entire home. “We woke up to the noise, and everything in the house was shaking. It’s something you never expect to happen.”
Buses arrived to transport residents from the surrounding area to temporary shelters. By mid-morning, around 15 evacuees had been relocated, though officials were still organizing further accommodations.
“It’s chaos here,” one resident said. “People don’t know what’s going on. We just hope everyone is safe.”
Local officials, including Mayor Jan van Zanen, visited the site to assess the situation and were briefed by emergency teams. He left soon after to allow rescue efforts to continue uninterrupted.
For now, the focus remains on locating survivors and providing support to those affected. The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined.
