Germany: Police say gasoline caused deadly Düsseldorf blast

Police on Friday said a fire accelerant appeared to be the cause of a massive early-morning explosion and blaze a day earlier in the western German city of Düsseldorf, the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Officials said they did not believe any outside party had been involved.

In earlier comments on Thursday, police had said that they had not immediately found signs of foul play or arson, but Friday's statement reopened that possibility.

The fire broke out after an explosion in the ground-floor food and beverage shop of a six-story building jarred residents from their sleep, shattering windows in neighboring houses.

Flames quickly engulfed the site, with panicked residents calling emergency services and those on lower floors jumping from balconies onto the glass-strewn street below.

The fire spread after an explosion in the ground-floor food and beverage shop of a six-story building jarred residents from their sleep, shattering windows in neighboring houses.

Flames quickly engulfed the site, with panicked residents calling emergency services and those on lower floors jumping from balconies onto the glass-strewn street below.

What police said about the investigation

Fire and forensics specialists examined the scene and said they had secured extensive trace material. Initial forensic and chemical investigations, including the fire debris from the kiosk, showed clear evidence that a fire accelerant, in this case petrol, was present.

Police and the public prosecutor's office assume that the flammable liquid was spread in the shop on the ground floor. The ignition of the gasoline-air mixture is believed to have caused the explosion.

Police said a criminal investigation was underway but that there was currently no evidence of a political motivation or the involvement of "other people from outside."

Scores of firefighters battled flames and saved people trapped on balconies

More than 100 firefighters, police and emergency services workers were at the site to extinguish the fire, evacuate those trapped on balconies and assist those in need.

The Düsseldorf Fire Department said some 70 people were attended to during the 9-hour operation.

Three men were reported dead, with one found in his apartment and two more in the stairwell. Officials say 16 people were hospitalized, two with life-threatening injuries. 

Fire experts searching for clues after structural engineers give all-clear to enter site

Fire experts are now inspecting the site in a search for clues as to the cause of the fire after structural engineers gave the all-clear for them to enter the building.

As a precaution, city workers temporarily capped a gas line to the building as it remains unclear if the explosion may have been the result of a technical defect, an accident or foul play.

Traffic, including for streetcars, was largely shut down along the busy street — which was lined with charred vehicles, chunks of metal, masonry, plastic and glass — for most of the day.

Addressing state lawmakers on Thursday, North Rhine Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reuel said, "there are no clues about nothing."

Mayor Stephan Keller, who inspected the site, said his thoughts were with the victims and their families, whom he said had "experienced immeasurable suffering."

Keller wished the injured a "full and speedy recovery" and thanked firefighters for their "quick response and tireless efforts," saying they had saved many lives.

js/msh (AP, dpa)