An Emergencies Ministry worker searches the rubble of the building hit by a blast in northeastern Moscow, August 21, 2002. At least one person was killed by an explosion in a Moscow apartment block late on Tuesday night and up to 25 people could be buried under the rubble, the Emergencies Ministry said on Wednesday. PHOTO – REUTERS
AMSTERDAM – A Dutch court sentenced a man to 15 years in jail on Thursday for causing a blast at a fireworks warehouse in the eastern town of Enschede two years ago, which killed at least 20 people.
Andre de Vries, 34, was found guilty of arson at S.E. Fireworks which led to an explosion in May 2000 which also injured close to 1000 and levelled more than 400 homes, Almelo district court said.
De Vries, who maintained he was innocent, had admitted to associates he caused the fire deliberately, the court said. It said he had asked another associate to give him a false alibi.
„By setting fire to a fireworks warehouse in a residential area the suspect has taken the predictable risk, those acts would have very serious consequences. The court is of the opinion that the suspect is responsible for these consequences,“ the court said in its verdict. Dutch television showed de Vries being restrained by court officials after the verdict was read out. They struggled briefly with him as he loudly protested his innocence before being led away.
Earlier this year, two owners of the warehouse were sentenced to six months in jail for breaking safety rules, including failing to install fire-resistant doors and working sprinklers. But they were found not guilty of culpable homicide.
The disaster in the small town near the German border shocked the Netherlands and plunged the country into mourning. A fireball from the explosion ripped through town leaving parts of it looking like a war zone. Politicians and members of the Dutch royal family joined 100 000 mourners in the town in a moving ceremony for the victims days after the blast.
Reuters
