Firefighters evacuated about 20 people from their apartments after an explosion at a Cologne cafe. When rescuers arrived, the restaurant was completely burned, a Cologne fire department spokesman said. About an hour later, at around 4 a.m., the fire was extinguished. Residents were then able to return to their apartments. Residents in the Pesch district reported hearing a loud explosion shortly before 3 a.m. that night. The cafe was soon ablaze and its windows were shattered.
There is no evidence that the explosion was deliberate, a police spokesman said. There have been a series of explosions in Cologne in recent times, said to be motivated by gang conflicts. The spokesman said it was not clear whether the latest blast was connected to that series.
