"It felt like an earthquake," locals say about explosion at Amsterdam apartment building

The explosion at an apartment building on Osdorper Ban in Amsterdam Nieuw-West overnight was heard in a large part of the city. “It felt like an earthquake,” Amina, who lives across the street from the apartment block, told RTL Nieuws. “It was so intense that my home literally started shaking.”

At least seven people are injured, including one in critical condition. Emergency services are searching the building for more victims. “I heard people screaming in panic and calling for help,” Amina said. “People were also shouting that someone was burning alive.”

The explosion happened at around 00:15 a.m. in the annex of the apartment building, which houses a 24-hour gym and fitness center. The cause is still unclear.

According to the gym’s owner, the explosion came from under the floor. “The camera footage from inside the building clearly shows that the explosion came from beneath our floor. On the ground floor, beneath our gym, there are pipes, a transformer room, and residents’ storage areas, among other things,” he wrote on social media.

The emergency services evacuated the 400 residents of the apartment building. About a hundred of them spent the night at the Osdorp district office. “I was just about to go to sleep, and at some point I heard a bang,” a resident told NOS from the district office on Friday morning. “At first, I thought a bomb had been planted. When I looked outside, I saw that the entire gym was open.”

“I actually went back to bed,” another resident told the broadcaster. “And then there was shouting: everyone must come outside, because there is a risk of collapse.”

The evacuated residents won’t be able to return home this morning, and likely not this afternoon either, the municipality said at 8:15 a.m. “Emergency services and other involved parties are still fully engaged in providing assistance, conducting investigations, and securing the area. Therefore, it is not possible to release the homes at this time.”

A crane is at the scene to aid the emergency services in their search for victims, and the police are placing tents around the incident site.

The municipality is arranging hotel rooms for evacuated residents who are unable to arrange their own accommodation.