An explosion killed Jamal al-Jamal, the Palestinian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, when he either opened the door of a safe or was moving it in his Prague apartment Wednesday.
“We are investigating the causes,” a police spokesperson told AFP. “I can only confirm there was a detonation in the residence of a Palestinian diplomat.”
A local fire department spokesperson said Wednesday’s explosion took place in the Suchdol neighborhood in the Prague 6 district.
A Prague rescue service spokesperson said one other person was taken to a hospital for shock.
The ambassador was with his family in the house as the explosion occurred, embassy spokesman Nabil el-Fahel said, CTK reported.
Jamal and his family has recently moved into the apartment, where the safe had been transferred from the former offices of the Palestinian Authority. The safe might have been rigged with a security device that automatically is triggered to destroy secret documents if someone moves the box or tries to break it open.
Another possibility is that explosives were stored in the safe, but Czech President Martin Cervicek stated, “I can say now there exists not a sole indication that would point to an act of terrorism or any other way of attacking the persons who were moving around the premises.”