A Greek engineer was among the six victims of the devastating blast that rocked an apartment block in The Hague, the Netherlands last Saturday.
The body of Vikel Kamperai, a civil engineer who had been living in the Netherlands for over two years, was identified by relatives on Tuesday, NL Times reports.
The 44-year-old man from Greece leaves behind his wife and their three young children, a 7-month-old boy, a 6-year-old girl, and a 10-year-old boy.
Greek blast victim moved to The Hague to work
Kamperai moved from Greece to the Netherlands in August 2022, a few months after he was contacted by a job recruiter.
The civil engineer was excited about the possibility of building a better life for his family in The Hague after a difficult time during Greece’s economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, NL Times reports.
The loss of the affable, enthusiastic father who was so excited about building a life in the Netherlands has been devastating for friends and family, his wife, Maria Apostolaki, told NL Times.
“How could this have happened?” Apostolaki wondered as she broke down in tears. She watched news of the disaster from their home near Athens after she learned that the explosions and the fire had happened on Tarwekamp in The Hague.
She struggled because it seemed so random and absurd that the disaster was unfolding at the apartment block where her husband had been living since moving to the country.
Authorities suspect foul play behind the explosion in The Hague
Authorities in the Netherlands have arrested three suspects in connection with the devastating explosions that demolished five homes in the Tarwekamp area of the city.
Police are exploring “all avenues” that could have led to the incident, with the arrests suggesting a potential criminal motive.
The suspects are being held in restrictive custody, only allowed contact with their lawyers, and are expected to appear in court later this week. “Further arrests cannot be ruled out,” officials announced.
Several vehicles have been seized—though it’s unclear if any are the car seen speeding away from the scene shortly after the explosion.
Police have received dozens of tip-offs and are appealing for more witnesses and images from pet cameras or dashcams. Forensic teams are poised to resume their investigation once the crime scene is deemed safe.
The explosion’s impact has extended beyond the immediate casualties. Four people were hospitalized, including two who had been sleeping in the basement of a bar at the time and were treated for smoke inhalation.
A bridal store next door to the bar was completely destroyed, while another ground-floor bar’s wine stock remarkably remained intact. An artist’s studio was also totally decimated.
Many residents were evacuated and remain in shelters while structural damage is assessed.
