No additional victims found after Amsterdam fitness center explosion that injured seven
No additional victims were found after emergency crews completed their search of the rubble left by a powerful explosion at a building housing a fitness center in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. The blast, which took place on Friday at around 12:15 a.m., sparked a fire, caused part of the structure to collapse, and damaged a neighboring apartment building. Police said multiple people were taken into custody in connection with the explosion, while investigators also seized several vehicles, a spokesperson told NL Times. Seven people were injured, including two critically. One of the two critically injured is expected to undergo multiple amputations and is believed to have been part of a group preparing explosives for ATM bombings.
“The entire building has been searched. No people were found, so there are no additional victims,” a spokesperson for the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region told NOS.
In the meantime, newspaper Het Parool reported that police are taking a scenario in which teenagers and young adults were making explosives in a basement storage area “very seriously." This theory has not been publicly confirmed by authorities.
On the day of the explosion, residents told NL Times they believed the blast and its victims could be connected to earlier ATM bombings. Soon after the explosion, two people were seen fleeing from the area. One resident told the Telegraaf that individuals sped away in a black Audi RS3 or RS6. Parool reported similar information, also adding that the car had German license plates.
Sources told Het Parool that seven or eight teenagers and young men were reportedly using a basement storage space beneath the fitness center to prepare explosives. According to the same reporting, these included larger charges intended for ATM explosions and smaller devices designed to force entry through doors, with the alleged aim of carrying out burglaries in Germany. The fierce blast may be due to several boys smoking near the explosives, Parool reported. That triggered a chain reaction heard as far away as the city center.
One of the injured, a man in his early 20s, is allegedly the younger brother of a convicted offender who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for organizing and preparing ATM bombings in Amsterdam, Kaatsheuvel, and areas near the German border. He was among the seven people injured in the blast and sustained burn injuries.
One of the two people in critical condition is a friend of the earlier injured suspect. Locally known by the nickname “Gekko,” he is expected to require amputations of both legs and one arm.
Officials have not yet identified the second critically injured person. Among the remaining victims, several teenage boys aged roughly 16 to 18 sustained only minor injuries or were largely unharmed. Authorities added that some of those connected to the incident have prior criminal records.
Authorities said the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service searched the section of the building where the explosion occurred after reports that explosive material might be present. Officials said the danger of further explosions has passed. However, “there are indications that explosive material may have been present, and investigators are taking that possibility into account as part of their investigation,” the spokesperson said. However, they could not confirm whether explosives were actually found.
Police said multiple suspects were arrested Friday and several vehicles were impounded but declined to say how many people were detained or how many vehicles were seized. Among those removed from the scene was a black Audi RS3 Sportback. Earlier on Friday, witnesses told NL Times that officers were also inspecting a black Volkswagen Golf that had been left near the 24-hour Fitness Studio Onna.
Police have not yet confirmed whether the explosion itself was a criminal act, nor have they established any link between the incident and groups suspected of involvement in ATM bombings in the Netherlands or Germany.
About 400 residents were evacuated after the explosion. Apartment residents next to the damaged building remained unable to return home Friday night and were being housed in a hotel. The apartment complex still had no electricity, and emergency services were expected to assess Saturday when residents could safely return to their homes.
