Four dead, more feared missing after The Hague flat explosions

At least four people have died, and three others are injured after explosions rocked a block of flats in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Authorities say firefighters rushed to the three-storey building following the blasts that caused the collapse of several homes yesterday.

The City's Mayor, Jan van Zanen (Shaw for zan), says it was unknown how many people were still missing.

The cause of the explosions is not yet clear, but Dutch police said a car drove away "at very high speed" shortly after and have appealed for witnesses.

Van Zanen says the chance of survivors being pulled from the rubble was slim and urged the community to prepare for a "worst case scenario.

It was earlier thought up to 20 people may have been in the flats at the time of the blast, but the Mayor refused to speculate on this.

Dutch police said a fourth body had been recovered, with a fifth person hospitalised.

The fire service said a fifth person had been pulled from the rubble but had since died - though it is unclear if this is the same person who was taken to hospital.

Source: BBC