Hunt for blast factory bosses

There is still no consensus about the cause of the explosion

Dutch authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the owners of a fireworks factory in the town of Enschede that exploded killing 20 people.

The Justice Department has issued a national and international warrant for the owners of S E Fireworks, R Bakker and W Pater, on suspicion of breaking safety rules.

"We are still looking for them, we don't know where they are," a department spokesman told Dutch television.

Two criminal investigations have been launched into Saturday's blast - one into whether regulations on storing fireworks had been broken and another into possible arson.

Four firefighters lost their lives

The blast from the factory has left almost 950 injured and destroyed 400 homes, leaving part of the town looking as if it had been in an air raid.

City authorities say S E Fireworks had all the necessary permits to store the estimated 100 tonnes of fireworks that exploded, and Bakker and Pater said soon after the disaster that they would assist any investigation.

The depot had been inspected less than a week before the blast.

Officials have said little about what could have caused the disaster.

Safety worries

One former German arson investigator said he had been surprised during a visit last year to see no bunkers or secure rooms, and had seen many fireworks containers left open.

Fire brigade officials said magnesium - used in some fireworks - may have been illegally housed in the depot, and reacted explosively when firefighters tried to douse the initial fire.

One small explosion was followed by a second, which created a huge fireball and caused the most destruction.

It killed people brought out by the impromptu fireworks display as well as four firemen who had been fighting an initial blaze.

Unaccounted for

Authorities on Thursday cut the number of people still unaccounted for after the explosion to 15 as more of the missing came forward.

They do not expect the death toll to rise above 20.

Eighteen bodies have been recovered and identified so far.

Some 15,000 people are expected to take part in a silent march through the town on Friday.

A section of the residential area surrounding the warehouse remains sealed off, although many of the inhabitants outside that area have returned to their homes.