Official: Explosion at residential building in Germany injures 12 first responders

A senior security official says at least a dozen people have been injured in an explosion at a residential building in western Germany

An explosion at a residential building in western Germany injured at least a dozen people Thursday, some of them seriously, a senior security official said.

The interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, Herbert Reul, told regional lawmakers that 10 firefighters and two police officers were injured in the blast at a high-rise building in the town of Ratingen.

Firefighters and police were called to the building in the morning after concerns were raised about two residents, Reul said. When they forced open an apartment door, they found a fire and one of the inhabitants used an unidentified object to cause an explosion, the minister said.

Television footage from the scene showed police snipers positioned on a balcony across the road from the building as smoke poured out of a top-floor apartment.

Police said the operation was ongoing and couldn’t immediately provide further details.

Ratingen is located on the northeastern outskirts of Duesseldorf, the state capital.