Overview
- A powerful explosion tore through an annex of a residential block in Amsterdam, causing a fire and partial collapse, injuring seven people and forcing about 400 residents to evacuate; rescue teams say no one else is believed trapped.
- Police have arrested three people in connection with the blast and carried out searches at the scene.
- Local media and witnesses report that explosives of the type used to blow up ATMs were being assembled in cellar rooms and that the device preparations were allegedly linked to a planned robbery in Germany; police are investigating those claims.
- Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema called making explosives in a residential area ‘‘asocial’’ and asked whether authorities had been aware of dangerous activity in the building, highlighting public‑safety and oversight concerns for neighbours.
- Dutch criminal groups have long been linked to explosive ATM attacks in Germany, and this incident is likely to prompt closer cross‑border inquiries and scrutiny of how explosives are stored and manufactured in urban residential areas.