Three people have been seriously injured in a fire in an apartment building in Eindhoven on Thursday evening.

According to local broadcaster Omroep Brabant, the fire was preceded by an explosion on the balcony of one of the apartments on the third floor. The fire then spread to the fourth floor, prompting the evacuation of the whole building.

The fire was put out by around 10.30 pm and most locals could go home once the building was declared safe. Several people were not prepared to wait that long and had to be stopped from leaving the area and entering their homes.

The inhabitants of six of the apartments had to spend the night elsewhere. The cause of the explosion remains unclear.