Palestinian ambassador dies in Prague blast

Jamal al-Jamal was initially said to have suffered serious injuries in the blast in a house in the Prague suburb of Suchdol before midday on Wednesday.

Several hours later, the Czech police announced that the ambassador had died. The authorities believe the blast was probably an accident.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the ambassador had been trying to open a safe that was recently moved to his new home and a Czech government source told Reuters that the explosion was probably caused by a security device on the unit.

Some safes are fitted with mechanisms designed to destroy secret documents in the event of the lock being tampered with.

The Czech source said the government did not believe it was a terrorist attack.

Police spokesman Andrea Zoulova earlier blamed the explosion on “a detonation of a so-far unidentified explosive mixture”.

She added that it was impossible to identify what kind of explosive had caused the blast and said a police search was underway.

There were no visible signs of damage to the house from the street, according to reporters at the scene.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it will send a delegation to Prague “to help with the investigation”.