New Delhi: Three Indian students were killed in a suspected arson attack at a residential building in the western German city of Bochum, where police have arrested a fellow resident on suspicion of murder. A judge subsequently ordered the 41-year-old Romanian national into pretrial custody after investigators ruled out a technical fault as the cause of the fire, which also injured five people.
The blaze broke out at a multi-family building on Poststraße in Bochum’s Hofstede district early on Tuesday. Police identified those killed as two women aged 25 and 27 and a 26-year-old man, all Indian nationals, while India’s embassy in Berlin confirmed that all three were studying in Germany.
The investigation has progressed beyond the initial arrest, with prosecutors seeking the suspect’s continued detention as evidence against him strengthened. A joint police and prosecution statement published by Radio Bochum on Wednesday, confirmed that a judge had issued an arrest warrant and ordered him into custody.
According to a German Press Agency report, the allegations concern three counts of murder and arson resulting in death. Prosecutors have not disclosed a motive, and the precise circumstances in which the fire started remain under investigation.
The suspected arson emerged as the central line of inquiry after investigators examined the property with assistance from a fire expert. German public broadcaster WDR reported, citing Bochum police, that a technical defect had been excluded and that homicide detectives had questioned the resident.
Firefighters received the alarm at about 4.15am local time, when flames were already emerging from the building’s ground floor and residents were calling for help from windows. Fire had also spread upwards through the stairwell, blocking the route emergency crews would normally use to reach people inside.
The obstructed staircase forced rescuers to work from outside, using a turntable ladder and portable ladders to reach the upper floors. Two residents were brought out by each type of ladder, while a fifth escaped by jumping into an inflatable rescue cushion; all five were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation.
The three Indian victims were found unresponsive in a second-floor flat, according to WDR. Firefighters brought them outside using the turntable ladder but attempts to resuscitate them were unsuccessful.
The Indian embassy said it and the consulate general in Frankfurt were in contact with local authorities and the bereaved families and were providing necessary assistance. In its statement, the mission expressed condolences and acknowledged that German authorities were investigating the deaths.
Local reporting also established that police had attended the building on October 11 following a dispute, and had responded to other incidents there previously. WDR quoted police as saying their findings at that stage did not establish a connection between those earlier deployments and the fatal fire.
The building was left uninhabitable because of extensive damage to its wooden staircase, while electricity supplies to neighbouring properties were temporarily disconnected. Emergency pastoral support was provided to responders, relatives and neighbours, and displaced residents initially stayed with family or friends or received municipal accommodation.