Brussels crime lab fire: Likely purpose "was to destroy evidence"

Image copyright AP

Image caption "Significant" damage was caused to the laboratories

A large fire at crime laboratories in Brussels was probably started to destroy forensic evidence, the prosecutor"s office says.

Shortly before 02:30 local time (00:30 GMT), a car rammed through three fences, leading to an explosion and a large fire, RTL Belgium reported.

A large blast was reported, but police could not confirm a bomb had exploded.

A spokeswoman for Brussels" prosecutor told Associated Press the aim of the fire was to destroy "several files".

A blast heard by nearby residents was probably down to combustible materials inside the building, rather than a bomb, she said.

Belgium"s terror alert level remains high since bomb attacks on Brussels airport and the city"s metro, claimed by so-called Islamic State, that killed 32 people in March.

There were no casualties in the crime lab fire, Belgian media reported, and it is unclear what happened to the perpetrators who fled the scene.

Some 30 firefighters helped put out the resulting fire at the National Institute of Criminology, which media said suffered "significant" damage.

Forensic analysis linked to criminal cases is carried out at the site, but RTL report that it is not the only laboratory of its kind linked to the police.

Images submitted to RTL by nearby residents showed flames and heavy smoke rising into the night sky.

The independent institute, linked to Belgium"s federal justice body, is in Neder-Over-Heembeek, a suburb in the north of Brussels.

Bilal Hadfi, who blew himself up outside the Stade de France during last November"s Paris attacks, lived in the suburb.

Original Article

Brussels crime lab fire: Likely purpose "was to destroy evidence"
http://latiendadejm.com/blog/brussels-crime-lab-fire-likely-purpose-was-to-destroy-evidence/

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