An explosion of unknown origin left one person injured on Monday in a building in the city of Cologne, in western Germany.
According to a statement from the police and public prosecutor's office, a 53-year-old man was slightly injured in an explosion in a building on the Hohenzollernring, a central street in Cologne, in a detonation whose causes are still unknown. to be clarified and which damaged doors and windows.
Police are searching for the suspect, who fled after the explosion, the same note said. Witnesses called for help after hearing a loud bang. Investigators are at the scene, which has been cordoned off.
The newspaper Pictureciting police sources, reported that the victim was an employee of the cleaning crews of the building who was near the site of the explosion.
A video circulating on social media, broadcast on Monday by 'NTV' television, shows how a person leaves a bag at the scene of the explosion and throws a burning object inside before fleeing and shortly after, an explosion occurs.
Cologne police reported on their social media account
The police have not yet provided any information on the possible reasons for the explosion. ARD reports that the incident is reminiscent of a series of similar attacks on residential and commercial buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia. “Several of these attacks are said to be the work of a drug gang from the Netherlands. “The background is said to be conflicts with drug dealers from the Rhineland,” the ARD news site adds.