Police officers and firefighters have been injured, some seriously, in an explosion in the western German town of Ratingen, police say.
Officers had responded to reports of a person in a vulnerable state in a flat.
Inside the flat they found a fire in one of the rooms and a man then used a device to set off an explosion, the regional interior minister said.
Heavily armed police stormed the flat and arrested a man aged 57, police said.
Herbert Reul, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, told officials that a body had been found in the apartment.
Mr Reul said 10 firefighters and two police officers had been injured.
A police spokeswoman told reporters that some of those hurt were in a potentially life-threatening condition.
The incident led to a major police operation in the town north-east of Düsseldorf
Journalists at the scene reported seeing police snipers take up positions on the roofs of neighbouring blocks.
Footage showed smoke coming from the high-rise apartment block as several loud bangs were heard.
Police said it was unclear what had caused the first blast.
Security sources told local media a targeted attack could not be ruled out.
Mr Reul said police had been called to the apartment after a residents’ organisation expressed concern that someone’s letterbox was overflowing.
Police then called firefighters to help gain entry to the apartment, he said.
Source: bbcnews
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