crime
Container for refugees allegedly set on fire
The fire brigade was able to extinguish the fire. photo
© –/5vision News /dpa
An uninhabited container facility in which refugees were planned to be accommodated is on fire in southern Hesse. According to initial investigations, the fire may have been set.
A still uninhabited container facility for accommodating refugees has presumably been set on fire in southern Hesse. Nobody was injured in the fire in Roßdorf (Darmstadt-Dieburg district) on Sunday night, according to the police in Darmstadt. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), who comes from Hesse, spoke of “bad news” on Twitter.
Initial investigations pointed to arson, the police reported. Fire investigators are expected to be on site Tuesday, a police spokesman said. The property damage was estimated by the police at several hundred thousand euros. A road user had discovered the fire and alerted the emergency services. Firefighters from the area were able to extinguish the flames. The police have launched an investigation and are looking for witnesses.
Minister of the Interior: “Terrible contempt for human beings”
“Even if fortunately no one has lived in it yet – burning a refugee shelter shows terrible inhumanity,” Faeser wrote on Twitter. “If the suspicion is confirmed, the perpetrators must be severely punished.”
The head of social affairs for the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, Christel Sprößler (SPD), who visited the scene of the fire on Sunday, said according to a spokesman: “The police have started the investigation, the process is ongoing, but we must probably assume arson.” The district does not want to participate in speculation. “There is nothing to comment on until the investigation is complete.”
Discussions in the coming days would show what consequences the fire would have for the plant and how it would be dealt with. “One thing is clear: the pressure remains high and we have to solve the task of accommodating refugees together with our cities and communities – this challenge remains.”