Dutch honour fireworks victims

Officials say scores of people remain untraced

Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok has led a memorial ceremony for the victims of Saturday's devastating explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Enschede.

Speaking in parliament, he said that all the rescuers and survivors would be able to testify at a independent national commission which will investigate the causes of the blast, which left at least 15 dead.

Prosecutors in the town of Almelo also announced a separate investigation into the causes of the blast, which injured over 600 local residents.

Three days after the blast, rescue officials are still struggling to compile an accurate list of victims, and the exact number of dead remains unclear.

The first blaze turned into a fireball and explosion

Fifteen bodies have been found, but scores more people remain unaccounted for.

Officials said on Tuesday the number of missing residents was fluctuating all the time.

"It's very difficult. I cannot give you a realistic number," said the head of the disaster investigation team Jan Kryns.

"There are 200 to 400 people on the list but it may not be the number actually missing. It is fluctuating every day and it may well be much lower."

Rescuers believe many of the missing householders had gone away for the weekend, or have gone to stay with relatives since the disaster happened.

A team of around 30 detectives and local council workers are trying to make checks through banks and other organisations to finalise the list.

The explosion destroyed about 400 houses

'Normal circumstances'

Officials in Enschede have given few details about the progress of their investigation into the cause of the crash.

"I cannot rule out anything. I can only say what happened there could not have happened under normal circumstances and cannot be explained," said Enschede fire chief Aad Groos.

One theory which the fire service said could not be ruled out was the possibility that magnesium was being stored illegally inside the depot.

Queen Beatrix visited the scene and comforted rescuers

If so, it would have reacted violently when exposed to water from firefighters's hoses, turning the initial blaze into the devastating second explosion which did most of the damage and killed four firefighters.

Authorities have also said it was possible that containers of fireworks could have been left open inside the warehouse. Arson is another theory.

Website

Hundreds of residents have been queuing at the city hall to sign a book of condolences.

Meanwhile thousands of internet users around the world have paid their tributes by means of a website set up by a Dutch teenager after the disaster, offering an online book of condolences and a chat room.

By Tuesday afternoon, just one day after it was set up, the site had been visited by 6,200 people.

The site's 18-year-old founder, Gert van Braak, said: "I think it's important for the victims to know that people around the world empathise with them."