The victims were a 19-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man. A turkish government representative criticized on monday that the authorities were using double standards and were too quick to rule out a xenophobic background. According to the police, they are investigating "in all directions".
The fire in the hohenberg district of colombia had broken out on saturday evening in the house, which was inhabited by people of different nationalities. The fire could have originated after first recognitions in the house corridor. The police also found the remains of a baby carriage there. According to information from investigators, no fire accelerant was found at first. Experts should inspect the house. "We’ll have to wait and see about all that," a police spokeswoman said on monday.
The rescue workers had gone to the scene late on saturday evening with a large contingent. When the fire department arrived, people were screaming at the windows for help. Dense smoke in the stairwell made escape impossible. The helpers used turntable ladders to get residents out of the building, while at the same time two teams searched the hallway for victims under breathing protection.
The fire department then found the two bodies in the smoke-filled hallway. The man had visited the resident of the house. Both wanted to escape through the staircase to the drawer. "They didn’t make it," a police spokesman surmised.
26 injured people were examined and treated by emergency doctors in a rescue bus. 13 people were taken to hospitals. They suffered mainly from smoke poisoning. A total of more than 30 residents are said to have lived in the house, including many people of turkish origin.
A turkish government representative accused the investigators in ankara on monday of playing down possible xenophobic crimes. "Whether in stuttgart or koln, in each of these fires a right-wing neo-nazi background must always be suspected and investigated in detail, whether it is arson or not," said deputy prime minister bekir bozdag, as reported by the anadolu news agency. The investigating authorities had already ruled out a xenophobic background immediately after the fire, he criticized. This shows that in germany double standards are applied.
The turkish minister for european affairs, egemen bagis, warned in izmir according to reports from anadolu: "everyone should know that turkey stands united behind its brothers and sisters, the staatsburgers and former staatsburgers, in germany and follows the developments with rough attention."
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