The Criminal Investigation Department has after the explosion with a dead and many injured in Blankenburg in the Harz the investigation itself. A case had been opened for causing explosives explosions, the police said. In addition to criminalists from Magdeburg and the experts of the crime scene group of the State Criminal Police Office are involved in the investigation.
On Friday morning, in an apartment of a five-story apartment building, an explosion and a subsequent fire had occurred. One man was killed, several residents and some emergency services were injured.
The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined. According to the police, several gas cylinders and heating appliances were found in the apartment. Whether the misfortune was triggered thereby, is open. According to the investigators, it is possible that a tenant wanted to save heating costs by own gas appliances.
The on-site investigation was complicated by the fact that after the explosion, the condition of the fire apartment was unclear. In the afternoon, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief examined the statics and supported the building with wooden beams. Afterwards, the investigators should return to the apartment to investigate further.
The affected blocks are probably uninhabitable for several weeks, said the CEO of Blankenburger housing company, Thomas Kempf. The district heating pipe must be checked and repaired, which could take several weeks. Currently, therefore, water and electricity are disconnected.
The house directly affected by the explosion as well as a directly adjacent block remain closed until further notice, as Blankenburg's mayor Heiko Breithaupt said. It was planned that the tenants could return briefly at the latest during the night under close supervision of fire brigade and police, in order to bring the most necessary out of their dwellings.
More than 200 field workers
According to Mayor Breithaupt, the task forces were "a picture of devastation". Since the morning, more than 200 forces have been there to extinguish the fire, to save people and to care for those affected. When the emergency services arrived, three people were apparently unconscious in front of the house, as Operations Officer Alexander Beck of the volunteer fire department said.
Initially, the police had run out of at least 25 injured. Later, the investigators corrected this information down: Two residents had been flown with burn injuries in a special hospital to Halle an der Saale. In addition, three residents suffered severe and ten people slight injuries. Four policemen went to the rescue operation to smoke poisoning.
In the video: "A picture of devastation"
Matthias Bein / DPA
The police also corrected their own information, according to which there had been in the apartment also World War II ammunition. This has not been confirmed.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff was dismayed by the disaster. "My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives, I express my sympathy," said the CDU politician. He thanked all rescue workers for their professional commitment.
