EXPLOSION as car packed with gas canisters PLOUGHS into town hall in Netherlands
A CAR packed with gas canisters has ploughed into the town hall of Lingewaard in the Netherlands, with one exploding and killing the driver.
Car filled with gas canisters ploughs into Dutch town hall
A fire brigade spokesperson told Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) the killed motorist was found "in the vicinity" of the car.
The resulting fire caused major damage to the town hall, located in the Gelderland village of Bemmel.
The spokesperson told newspaper AD that police had received a threat that could be linked to the incident.
But Lingewaard Mayor Marianne Schuurmans told the newspaper said that news of the threat "surprised me".
She said: "I will have to wait for the police investigation.
"What I find awful is that someone was killed. My thoughts go out to the family."
The police would not confirm or deny that this was a targeted action.
On Twitter, they said: "Let us not speculate on the cause of the fire in the Lingewaard town hall. The police have a firm suspicion about who was involved, which we are currently investigating."
The car ploughed through the entrance of the town hall at around 2am on Wednesday, with the fire brigade bringing the blaze under control an hour later.
The twon hall is difficult to reach by car, because of large poles placed in front of the path leading to its entrance.
Due to the damage, the town hall, which is without power, will remain closed to the public for the remainder of Wednesday.
Mayor Marianne Schuurmans added: "We are doing our best to get the services to the Lingewaard residents back on track as soon as possible"