Owen O’BrienThe police were deployed together with the riot police at the site of the explosion in Rotterdam
NOS News•today, 00:49•Changed today, 07:28
The mobile unit was deployed late last night at the site in South Rotterdam where there was an explosion on Monday due to unrest among local residents and relatives of missing people. There was a risk that the group would enter the site, the police said. He arrested two people who tried to get past the fences on the site.
Due to the unrest, demolition work and the search for the two missing people were halted for a short time. Last night it remained quiet.
Mutilated
Relatives of the missing are afraid that the bodies under the rubble will be further mutilated during the demolition of the building. “We are Muslims, we have to bury our bodies,” a worried family member told NOS. He was referring to the Islamic custom of burying the dead as quickly as possible.
The riot police had to intervene to stop family members and local residents:
ME intervenes after unrest at Rotterdam explosion site
A large crane is busy demolishing the destroyed building piece by piece. The structure of the building in Zuidwijk has been so weakened after Monday’s explosion and fire that the search for the missing is considered dangerous. According to the police, any shifting of debris could cause the building to collapse like a house of cards.
Frustration
This led to frustration among several dozen relatives of the missing and local residents who gathered at the fence. They want to get to the missing quickly and are afraid that demolition will be too heavy-handed.
Yesterday, relatives of one of the victims entered the site out of frustration at the lack of a search. They were initially asked to leave, but were later allowed to enter the site after consultation with officers.
Family members then retrieved a body from the rubble, accompanied by officers.
Family of missing man enters cordoned off building after Rotterdam explosion and removes body
The building will be demolished on the advice of building and housing supervision. This is done “from the outside in and from top to bottom, with the main goal of tracing the missing as quickly as possible,” the police report.
Due to the dangerous situation, the police expect that the search for the two missing people will take several days.
2024-01-31 23:49:36
#action #unrest #Rotterdam #explosion #site #arrests
