Explosion, fire kills family of five in western the Netherlands

Explosion, fire kills family of five in western the Netherlands

2011-07-05 15:03:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

HOOFDDORP (BNO NEWS) -- Two parents and their three young children were killed on early Tuesday morning when an explosion followed by a fire ripped through a house in western the Netherlands, police said.

The explosion happened at around 2 a.m. local time at a house in Hoofddorp, a small city about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Amsterdam, the country's capital. It was followed by a brief but intense fire which quickly engulfed the building.

A police spokesperson said five people, two adults and three children, were killed in the fire. De Telegraaf newspaper identified the victims as a 43-year-old man from Iraq and his 35-year-old wife from Russia. Their children were aged 6, 8, and 11.

Dutch media said several explosions were heard at around 2 a.m. local time, followed by the sound of a screaming woman. It was not immediately clear what may have caused the explosion and fire.

"The family had been living in the house since a year and led a reclusive existence," local resident Jacques Momban told De Telegraaf. "I found the man to be a dark figure. If you greeted him on the street, he'd ignore you. The family had problems and recently had screaming fights."

Momban told the newspaper that the man on several occasions, during the fights, left the house with suitcases at night and returned the next day. "Since they moved here they were always busy with working on the house. They did everything themselves and had covered the windows with newspapers."

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