NOS News•today, 2:06 PM
Three people were found dead in a drug lab in Poederlee in the Belgian municipality of Lille, about 30 kilometers from the Dutch border.
There is no official cause of death yet. Toxic fumes were probably released during the production of drugs, a police source told the Belgian news broadcaster VRT. Amphetamine, better known as speed, would be produced in the lab.
Local residents saw many emergency services at the building this morning:
Residents of drug lab in Belgium: ‘Woke up to many sirens’
In addition to the three deaths, three more victims were found in the lab. One of them has been resuscitated. It is unclear what condition it is in. Two others were taken to hospital. One of them is the one who called the police on Wednesday morning about the bodies in the building. Nothing is yet known about the identities of the victims and their role in the lab.
Gas station next door
According to the mayor of Lille, Marleen Peeters, it could have been even worse. She expresses her concerns about the gas station that is right next to the newspaper De Morgen. “You can’t imagine what else an explosion could have caused.”
On paper, the building on Poederleeseweg had been empty for several months, writes the VRT. According to Mayor Peeters, no suspicious matters had been noticed in recent months.
This is also what the owner of the building said to the Belgian news medium RTV. He says he has been renting this to a Dutchman since April 1. “I’ve seen the tenant twice, that’s all. I haven’t noticed any movement. They’re also renting from April 1st, so it can’t have been going on for long.”
A neighbor across the street who spoke to VRT saw vans driving up and down in recent days. “We noticed that. What are they doing now?”
