Because of the explosion in a residential and commercial building in the center of Eschweiler, a suspect is now in custody. The 21-year-old German is accused of, among other things, attempted murder in conjunction with dangerous bodily harm in 15 cases and particularly serious arson, as the Aachen public prosecutor announced on Saturday. Investigators did not provide any information about motives or background.
Four of the 15 injured were taken to hospital, two of them with life-threatening injuries. A seriously injured two-month-old baby is doing better now, the prosecutor said. The suspect was arrested on Friday, one day after the explosion.
The detonation in the four-story residential and commercial building had caused severe devastation. A whole block of streets was littered with shards of shop windows and rubble. People had to be rescued from upper floors. Up to 25 shops are affected. “The street is open to pedestrians, residents can go back to their homes,” said a city spokesman on Sunday.
“The city is really in shock”
For the Eschweiler, the explosion is the second accident in a short time. The July flood of 2021 flooded the city center, and the street with the explosion was also affected. Some business people had only recently reopened their shops. “The city is really in shock,” Mayor Nadine Leonhardt reported on WDR 5. After the flood disaster, the next crisis is now in store. The city of 56,000 set up two hotlines: one for business people, the other for those affected and helpers.
At the site of the explosion, the fire brigade withdrew the last of their strength on Saturday evening. It will be checked whether the affected house is in danger of collapsing, said a spokesman. The ground floor was secured with supports. Numerous shops in the area were boarded up with wooden boards. A container was available for the disposal of rubble.
No resident is homeless, the city spokesman said. Some of the injured are still in the hospital. The other residents were all accommodated. With reference to the privacy of those affected, the public prosecutor’s office did not provide any further information on the injured person.
