Multiple arrests and seizures after Amsterdam gym explosion

Police have arrested several people and seized a number of cars after the explosion that destroyed a gym in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, as rescue workers continue to take the wrecked building apart in search of people they believe may still be trapped under the rubble.

Police have not said when the suspects were arrested or on what grounds, broadcaster NOS reported, and no new information has been released about the cause of the blast. Detectives have still been unable to enter the building because the rescue operation takes priority.

Seven people were pulled from the debris shortly after the blast, which happened just after midnight. Two of them were seriously injured, police said. The search for further victims is expected to continue into Friday evening.

“This operation is taking a very long time because we are trying to take the building apart bit by bit,” a safety board spokesperson told broadcaster NOS. “We are dismantling the building almost stone by stone to do it safely.”

The search was initially described as a precaution, but officials now have indications that people are under the rubble, NOS reported, although the spokesperson would not say what those indications are. Emergency services are also allowing for the possibility that there are more explosives at the site, the AD said.

People running from the scene

The cause of the explosion has not been established. Grid operator Liander said there are no indications it was a gas explosion, although further investigation is needed. One of the gym’s owners has said camera footage shows the blast came from under the floor, where gas pipes, a transformer room and residents’ storage units are located.

Police have seized an Audi with German number plates five kilometres from the gym, but a spokesman could not confirm the seizure is connected to the investigation, the AD reported. The Telegraaf quoted witnesses who said they saw an Audi driving away at speed after the explosion, and youths running from the scene.

Mayor Femke Halsema, who visited the site on Friday morning, said the area has seen “relatively many” explosions for some time. “That people are now living in permanent fear is appalling,” she told reporters. “That makes it all the more important that the investigation is extremely thorough.”

Evacuations and appeal for witnesses

Neighbours described pulling victims from the building before the emergency services arrived. “We put a ladder up so they could climb down over the rubble,” one told NOS. Another found a victim who had been blown out of the building.

Some 400 people were evacuated from the neighbouring block of flats and will spend a second night away from home, the city council said, although the safety board said the structure of the flats has not been damaged. Around 100 people are being put up in a hotel, and 233 households are without power.

Police have appealed for witnesses and camera footage from around 12.10am on Friday.