Germany shelves investigation of fire that killed 9 Turks; cannot determine cause

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Germany shelves investigation of fire that killed 9 Turks; cannot determine cause

Wednesday 23 July 2008
By: DAVID RISING, The Associated Press
BERLIN

A February fire that killed nine Turks in southern Germany was probably not arson, investigators said Wednesday, but they are ending their probe without determining an exact cause because they say all leads have been exhausted.

Despite initial fears the blaze in Ludwigshafen could have been a far-right arson attack, investigators found no evidence of a flammable accelerant, prosecutor Lothar Liebig said in a statement.

"No evidence of arson has been found in the very extensive and intensive investigation," Liebig said. "We can almost certainly rule out arson."

The investigation also determined the fire could not have been caused by a technical malfunction or an electrical overload, because the area where the fire broke out had no electrical wiring or devices near it, Liebig said.

"After studying more than 200 pieces of evidence, the questioning of some 120 witnesses and the written reports of 164 members of the police, fire and rescue services, and the examination of hundreds of photos and videos, the cause of the fire has not yet been determined," he said.

The Feb. 3 fire killed four adults and five children.

In the days after the blaze, several Turkish newspapers carried headlines and stories drawing parallels to neo-Nazi attacks on immigrants in the 1990s and alleging that German rescue workers failed to respond promptly.

Turkish investigators who participated in the inquiry, however, have said they were satisfied with the investigation. They said they had no doubts that the fire broke out in the basement and that fire and police had responded swiftly.

Liebig said the probe will be immediately reopened if new information or evidence regarding a possible cause should emerge.