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The fire that killed nine people in an apartment in Ludwigshafen in Germany was unlikely to have been arson, according to an interim report by the state prosecutor’s office.
Nine women and children of Turkish origin were killed and 60 people were injured, in what was described as the worst fire in the town since World War II. The fire received worldwide coverage with pictures of an eight month old baby being thrown to safety from a fourth floor window. The baby and his parents survived, but his brother and cousins were killed in the blaze.
Chief prosecutor Lothar Liebig said there was no sign of a xenophobic attack or arson, and that the fire was likely to be the result of human negligence. No accelerant was found, he added, and the fire originated in the cellar and had been smouldering for up to three hours.
The investigation into the cause of the fire continues.
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