An explosion occurred in an apartment building in the Antwerp district of Borgerhout on Sunday morning, possibly linked to ongoing drug conflict in the province.
The explosion took place at around 03:00 in the morning on the third floor of a building in Lodewijk van Berckenlaan. No one was injured, but police said there was extensive property damage.
“Doors were blown out and parts of the ceiling were damaged,” said police spokesperson Wouter Bruyns. In addition to the police and fire brigade, the DOVO demining service and the forensic lab also arrived at the scene.
The entire building had to be evacuated. The residents of the approximately 15 flats are being sheltered in a nearby service centre.
The investigation is still ongoing, but police assume that an explosive device was detonated. “A link to the drug environment is not ruled out,” Bruyns said.
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Due to its strategic location to access Europe, Antwerp has become a global hotspot for drug trafficking. Rival gangs frequently resort to grenade and bomb attacks against each other during gang wars over drug territory.
This would not be the first time violence between drug gangs has spilt onto the streets of Antwerp. At the start of this month, a violent explosion rocked the city in the early hours of a Sunday morning, causing extensive damage to some 20 nearby properties.
