Three Indian nationals were killed in a fire at a residential building in the German city of Bochum, local media reported on Wednesday (October 14, 2026).
He is a Romanian national, German news channel n-tv reported, citing the German Press Agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). Their nationalities and other details were not specified in the media reports. The victims were two women aged 25 and 27, and a 26-year-old man, all Indian nationals, German public broadcaster WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) reported, citing details released by Bochum police. Five other people were also injured in the incident that occurred early Tuesday (October 13, 2026). Police have arrested a 41-year-old resident of the building on suspicion of murder. Police and prosecutors announced the arrest on Wednesday (October 14, 2026).
A Bochum police spokesperson told WDR that there were initial grounds for suspicion of murder against the man, who had been questioned by officers from the homicide squad.
Investigators have ruled out a technical defect as the cause of the fire and suspect arson, but whether the fire was deliberately set or started accidentally remains under investigation. The fire broke out early on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) in a multi-family residential building in Bochum’s Hofstede district. Emergency services were alerted around 4.15 a.m. local time.
