The explosion caused extensive damage to the property. / Explosion at Primera in Kinkerstraat
The explosion happened around 3:40 a.m. Several neighbors reported hearing loud bangs to police. Once on site, it turned out to be a robbery at an ATM on the outside of the Primera building, a police spokesperson said. “No one was hurt. The shop front is badly damaged.”
After the explosion, witnesses saw a scooter with two people driving away towards Bellamyplein. The police launched a search in the area, but were unable to arrest anyone. The spokesperson could not say with certainty whether and how much money was stolen.
The area surrounding the property is currently cordoned off. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (EOD) has investigated, but no further explosive material has been found. The situation is now safe, according to police. “The homes above the store have not been evacuated.”
Explosion in Kinkerstraat: ‘Unbelieveable’
Local resident and maker of the video Allard Pronk was woken up by two loud bangs. “I looked outside and immediately started filming. Then I heard a third bang. Then you see them go in there and run with headlights on their heads with the loot. They then drove off on a scooter onto the Ten Katemarkt.”
Pronk himself lives diagonally across from the building where the robbery took place. For him, the explosion only caused a disturbed night’s sleep. “It will be especially shocking for the people who live directly above or next to it.”
The morning after the explosion, Maria van der Meulen, who works at the butcher next to Primera, looks at the damage to the building. “We can’t open today, everything is cordoned off here. It’s unbelievable.”
Series of explosions in Kinkerstraat
The city has recently been ravaged by explosions. An explosion recently took place at jeweler Bektas on Buikslotermeerplein in Noord. It was the second time in a year and a half that the store had been hit by an explosion. An explosion also took place in August at the Geldmaat on the Pieter Calandlaan in Nieuw-West and at an ATM on the Iepenweg in East.
A few weeks earlier, an ATM at the Primera on the Beukenplein in East was blown up. The explosion also caused considerable damage. It was the second explosion in a week. Earlier, a fire broke out after an explosion at Tussen Meer in Osdorp.
Ban ATMs
Mayor Femke Halsema recently expressed her concerns about the series of incidents in Het Gesprek with the Mayor on AT5. “Last year, it was just a bit quiet around ATM explosions,” she noted. “But now it’s suddenly back. It’s serious, I’m concerned about that.”
At the moment, the municipality cannot force banks to remove ATMs, but the mayor indicated that he would like to have that authority. “Now residents have to raise the issue themselves to get them out. Until I have the authority, you keep places that are risky.”
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