Explosion - Dead man in refugee shelter comes from Ethiopia
At a refugee shelter in Buchholz in Nordheide, according to police investigations, a man from Ethiopia died after an explosion caused a fire. The 28-year-old man was found in a container home on Monday following the explosion. According to the latest investigation, the man was also responsible for the explosion, the police announced.
Whether a expert would be called in or the body would undergo an autopsy was initially unclear. This would require further negotiations with the public prosecutor, a police spokesperson explained. The investigation was currently focusing on the motive and background of the crime.
Twenty people were injured in the fire, including a police officer. He was not in critical condition but was being treated in intensive care, it was reported. He suffered severe burns. The injured, including residents and residents' families of the provisional housing units, were treated on site and some were taken to nearby hospitals.
Due to indications of a fire hazard in the shelter for about 100 people in the Harburg district, two police officers and two employees of the shelter had gone to the container and detected a gas smell. Suddenly, there was an explosion. According to the fire department, a fire broke out in the ground floor of the two-story building. The shelter with 48 containers caught fire.
The fire department was engaged with around 150 emergency responders in firefighting efforts. The fire was relatively quickly brought under control by the firefighters; the firefighting efforts were ended in the afternoon.
- The explosion at the refugee accommodation in Buchholz in the North Heath, originating from a container home, was linked to the Ethiopian refugee who tragically perished in the incident, as revealed by the ongoing police investigation.
- The emergency services, including the fire department and police, were swiftly dispatched to Buchholz in Nordheide following reports of an explosion and subsequent fire at a refugee shelter, which displaced about 100 individuals.
- Despite the initial uncertainty, an expert and an autopsy were undertaken to gather more information about the circumstances surrounding the Ethiopian refugee's demise, as requested by the public prosecutor in the context of the ongoing police investigation.
- The emergency response team in Lower Saxony worked diligently to contain the explosion-induced fire at the provisional housing units in Buchholz, ensuring the safety of the injured individuals and extinguishing the flames, resulting in damage to 48 container homes.
- In the wake of the tragic incident in Buchholz, officials and the local community paid tribute to the Ethiopian refugee who lost his life and offered support to the traumatized residents, who have been temporarily relocated to alternate accommodation.
