According to the report, no one was injured, but significant damage was caused to the building located in Neder-Over-Hembeek, a suburb north of Brussels.
Advertisement
Five people were arrested for questioning, but were all released later on.
“The explosion was extremely powerful”, fire department spokesman Pierre Meys said.
Instead the country’s prosecutor’s office says the incident is more likely to be an arson attack created to destroy evidence.
“The possibility of a terrorist act is not confirmed”.
A auto was reportedly rammed into the Brussels Criminology Institute earlier this morning.
Part of the building was scorched and burned out, an AFP reporter saw, while a burned out vehicle was lifted from the scene by a crane.
The lab contains evidence, such as DNA samples found at crime scenes, used in ongoing investigations. The institute carries out forensic examinations in criminal cases and is connected with the Belgian federal justice ministry.
She said it was not yet clear how they started the fire.
A young woman living in the neighborhood said she was awakened by the explosion. The authorities have claimed that nothing indicates to the incident being a terror attack, while saying it could be at attempt to eliminate evidence.
Europe has been on high alert after ISIS attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past year. Brussels is also home to many European Union institutions.
Advertisement
A Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson told RIA Novosti later that the Belgian authorities had no evidence the blast was caused by a bomb.
