Saxony
Fire destroys houses in Ellefeld – fire department finds dead
The cause of the fire is not yet clear, according to the police, local residents “first saw a loud explosion”. photo
© Mike Müller/dpa
An apartment building goes up in flames in the middle of the night. The fire also spread to a residential building connected to it – with serious consequences.
A fire destroyed an apartment building in the Saxon Vogtland municipality of Ellefeld (Vogtland district) on Sunday night and made another uninhabitable. They “burned out completely and are no longer habitable,” said the Zwickau police department.
A lifeless man was found in the rubble earlier today. The 67-year-old is said to be the owner of the house from which the flames erupted. Residents initially noticed an explosion there at midnight, a police spokeswoman reported. The exact cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Around 100 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the fire
According to the police, one of the connected old terraced houses caught fire after the loud explosion in the basement. Although several fire brigades were quickly on site, the flames spread to the neighboring house. Its residents had previously abandoned it. The surrounding buildings were evacuated, and electricity and gas supplies were temporarily shut off. A total of eleven adults and one child were brought to safety. The dead man lived alone in his house, a police spokeswoman said.
The extinguishing work, in which around 100 firefighters were involved, lasted almost four hours until early morning. The house where the fire broke out has been destroyed and the other is in danger of collapsing. Its residents lost their homes and stayed with neighbors, the police spokeswoman said. The total damage to property is not yet known – and the criminal police are investigating in this case.