Fire at Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" in Bavaria: motorcyclist detained by police
A suspect was detained after the famous Kehlsteinhaus in Berchtesgaden was engulfed in flames on Friday evening. Nearly 200 firefighters responded to the scene.
Kehlsteinhaus in flames: police detain motorcyclist spotted nearby
The famous Kehlsteinhaus in Bavaria, known as Adolf Hitler's "Eagle's Nest", was engulfed in flames on Friday evening, and police detained a suspect, according to hotnews.ro citing AFP.
The alarm was triggered by a smoke detector in the building on Friday at around 21:50 local time (22:50 in Romania). Firefighters heading to the location spotted the flames from a distance and, upon arriving at the scene, found that the entire building was engulfed in fire.
Nearly 200 firefighters were mobilised to extinguish the fire at Kehlsteinhaus, a building situated at 1,834 metres altitude on a rocky promontory above the town of Berchtesgaden. The difficult access and intervention conditions hampered operations, according to police spokesperson Lisa Maier. "The building can only be entered with heavy respiratory protection equipment," she said.
The flames could be seen from several kilometres away. No persons were injured.
Shortly after the fire broke out, law enforcement intercepted a motorcyclist leaving the area. He was detained. According to police, the investigation is aimed at "establishing whether this person is involved in the fire". German tabloid Bild mentions that investigators are considering the hypothesis of deliberate arson.
The cause of the fire has not been officially established. "The judicial police investigation is ongoing," Maier said.
Kehlsteinhaus was constructed between 1937 and 1938 near the town of Berchtesgaden, as part of the "Führer's restricted zone" in Obersalzberg. The building, built of stone and granite, was intended for diplomatic representation, although Hitler himself visited it extremely rarely. The edifice survived the Second World War without suffering damage. Since 1952, it has operated as a restaurant and houses an exhibition dedicated to its history.
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)