The blast happened on the evening of October 5 in a private home, the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) spokeswoman Inta Palkavniece said.
Šorīt ugunsdzēsēji glābēji pabeidza glābšanas darbus Saulkrastu novadā, kur vakardien bija sagruvusi māja un bojāgājuši pieci cilvēki. pic.twitter.com/TdLqhdo3IO
— VUGD (@ugunsdzeseji) October 6, 2017
Palkavniece said that when rescuers arrived at the site, the house had collapsed and was on fire. Rescue works were launched immediately, but the firemen managed to find five bodies in the debris.
The rescue operation ended Friday morning.
Palkavniece said that the State Police is now investigating the case. During the fire there were suspicions about possible explosives in the house, therefore specialists from the National Armed Forces were sent to the location.
October 5 was a particularly tragic day in Latvia with another three lives were lost in Grobina district when a collision between two cars took place. One of the dead was a police officer, though he was on vacation and not in a police vehicle at the time, State Police said.
On October 4 a 4 year old boy was also reported as drowned in a Ventspils swimming pool.
