Updated | A spokeswoman for the Brussels’ prosecutor has said that a large fire at the country’s Institute of Criminology was likely started to destroy evidence. Police said that it was probably an arson attack on the crime lab.
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Van wymersch said it is without doubt that several people would benefit if elements from their legal cases were destroyed. The building was empty and there are no reports of casualties or fatalities. That caused a significant fire at the building. The area was also home to Bilal Hadfi, one of the suicide bombers who carried out the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris.
The lab contains evidence, such as DNA samples found at crime scenes, used in ongoing investigations.
Earlier in the day, media reports emerged claiming that a vehicle rammed through the fence surrounding the building of the institute, located in northern Brussels, after which one or more attackers exploded a bomb at the site.
She called the damage to the building “severe”, The New York Times reported, adding that the attack could hinder the efforts of police and intelligence officials to pursue suspects and monitor threats.
Fire service spokesperson Pierre May told AFP, “The explosion was extremely powerful.Windows of the lab were blown out dozens of metres away”.
The institute is linked to the Belgian ministry of justice and carries out forensic investigations in criminal cases.
The institute which is affiliated with Belgium’s federal justice body, is situated near Neder-Over-Hembeek, a suburb in the north of Brussels.
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Brussels has been on edge since a terror attack March 22 that killed 32 people and wounded more than 300.
