ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190064
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BONN, GERMANY
SOURCE: From The New York Times and The Associated Press
At least 10 people, including four children, died early Thursday when fire roared through a home for foreigners seeking asylum in Germany. The authorities said they could not exclude an arson attack by rightists.
If such suspicions are confirmed, the fire at the four-story building in the northern port of Luebeck will rank as by far the worst in a string of hate crimes against foreigners since Germany's reunification in 1990.
The Luebeck police said Thursday night that they were questioning three young men seen near the home after the fire broke out around 3:40 a.m.
``What we fear is that it was an attack, because the flames spread so quickly,'' said Michael Bouteiler, Luebeck's mayor.
The three men were being investigated on suspicion of murder and arson. Luebeck prosecutor Michael Boeckenhauer said the fire started simultaneously in several places, indicating arson.
But police later said they were still probing and had not ruled out ``a technical defect'' as the cause.
The police declined to identify the dead beyond saying that the immigrants in the home included Syrians, Lebanese, Zairians, Togolese, and ethnic Germans from Poland. Throughout the day, African and other immigrants gathered outside the scorched hulk of the building on a street corner near Luebeck harbor, some openly weeping and others inquiring about the whereabouts of friends.
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Luebeck and Hamburg Thursday night in vigils and marches to protest right-wing violence., but, more than 16 hours after the fire broke out, with the immigrants' home still smoldering, the police declined to say what their investigations had established.
``We are investigating all possibilities,'' said Winfried Tabarelli, a senior investigator in Luebeck. ``Everything is possible, from a technical defect, to arson.'' The fire was said to have started in several places, indicating arson, investigators said.
Police officials said the men, 16 to 19 years of age, were initially observed near the scene of the fire, where police officers took details of their identity and detained them.
``If this turns out to be another attack, my patience will snap,'' President Roman Herzog declared at a meeting in Kiel. ``I will publicly raise the issue of whether we are doing enough for public security.''
The number of fatalities could increase. As flames engulfed the turn-of-the-century building, several of the 45 immigrants living in the home leaped for their lives. One was a woman who died cradling a 2-year-old child in her arms. Others were seriously injured with shattered limbs and head injuries.
Additionally, some immigrants expressed fears that a family with six children had been trapped in the attic. Firefighters were unable to investigate the report because, they said, there was a danger the roof of the building could collapse on them.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 linesby CNB