Video: Flames engulf houseboat cabin, leaving one dead, one hurt in Tilburg
One person died in a fire on a houseboat in Tilburg early Tuesday morning. A second person escaped with minor injuries by jumping off the boat and into the water, the Tilburg police said on X. An arson investigation was underway to determine if the fire was set intentionally.
The emergency services responded to the fire on Goirkekanaaldijk at around 3:30 a.m. It was already too late to save the person who died by the time they arrived at the scene.
No information was released about the victim’s identity. The police won’t share such details until they are sure that all the victim’s loved ones have been informed. The second individual who jumped off the boat was identified as a man.
Witnesses said the boat was being used as a shelter by some people without a home. Neighbors told Omroep Brabant that the ship was already in a poor state even before the fire. "There were no windows and a sail was stretched over the roof," a resident living on the waterway told the broadcaster.
Fire department activity jarred the neighbor awake, but they had not heard an explosion. "In the winter they brought kerosene to the boat," the resident said. "I would not have been surprised if it had caught fire at that time. It is incredibly sad, I have no words for it."
The scene was still cordoned off by police later Tuesday morning.
