- Police identified a suspect linked to the Drammen fire but do not treat the blaze as a deliberate criminal act.
- The Friday fire destroyed more than 100 houses in Drammen, called Norway's largest such fire in a hundred years by local media.
- Police say a person was given suspect status to safeguard their rights, stressing this does not mean there is evidence of a crime.
- More than 400 people were evacuated; many have since returned. Firefighting operations continue and the rescue service says the situation is under control.
Norwegian police said on Tuesday they have identified a suspect linked to a massive fire that broke out last week in a town near Oslo, but were not treating the blaze as a deliberate criminal act.
The devastating fire which occurred Friday in the town of Drammen, destroying more than 100 houses, has been labelled as the largest of its kind in a hundred years in Norway by local media.
“For now, the police do not have a concrete suspicion that anything criminal has happened, ” police official Nina Fladhus of the southeast police district said in a statement.
“A person has been given the status of a suspect, so that the person’s interests can be further safeguarded,” she said, citing the suspect’s right to a defence attorney.
“Even if a person has the status of a suspect, it does not mean that the police have information about the cause of the fire or that any crime has been committed,” Fladhus added.
The police said they “have an idea of where the fire started”, but that it was too early to disclose any details concerning the cause of the fire.
Over 400 people were evacuated as the fire rapidly spread, prompting large-scale firefighting operations.
Many have been able to return since.
Firefighting operations were still underway on Tuesday, but the local rescue service stated that the situation was under control.
