At least 12 flats in a residential part of Breda were evacuated on Thursday afternoon, following the discovery of explosives in an apartment, local police said.

A 69-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the find, which was made by investigators looking into a possible bomb attack in the residential area of the city on Wednesday evening.

A 63-year-old man is now fighting for his life in hospital in connection with that blast. The man, described as being ‘known to the police’, lost an arm and a leg in the explosion.

Police said earlier the most likely cause of that explosion is a bomb.

Breda mayor Paul Depla has called an emergency meeting of mayors from neighbouring towns to discuss the escalating crime wave in the region, the Telegraaf says on Thursday afternoon.

‘I want to know the cause of all this, so we can tackle it properly, he told the paper.

The Telegraaf named the victim as Breda resident Chris van Esch and said the police are treating the incident as an attempted gangland killing.