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Hundreds of protestors can be seen outside the emergency centre for asylum seekers.
20:44, Tue, May 12, 2026 Updated: 21:10, Tue, May 12, 2026
A fire has broken out at an asylum seeker centre (Image: X)
A fire has broken out at an emergency centre for asylum seekers in the Netherlands after protestors reportedly hurled fireworks. Video footage posted online on X shows a blaze raging at an asylum seekers' centre in Loosdrecht.
Journalist Owen O'Brien posted: "BREAKING: Fire started at #AZC in Loosdrecht by sparklers. About to spread to the building. No fire department in the area yet. Police holding urgent consultations but not intervening yet."
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BREAKING: Brand gesticht bij #AZC in Loosdrecht door sierfakkels. Gaat bijna overslaan naar het gebouw. Geen brandweer in de buurt vooralsnog. Politie voert druk overleg maar grijpt nog niet in. pic.twitter.com/XHt5ftWMty
— Owen (@_owenobrien_) May 12, 2026According to local media, 200 people descended on Loosdrecht town hall last week to protest against plans to open a temporary refugee centre.
The site saw further protests on Tuesday evening, although the number of demonstrators has yet to be confirmed by authorities.
The small village near Hilversum has been at the centre of anti-refugee protests in recent days, many of which have turned violent.
The first refugees are now due to arrive next week and their number has been cut from 110 to 70 following the protests.
Mr O’Brien, who was in attendance at the demonstration on Tuesday evening, claimed that fire fighters had been held back as they attempted to respond to the incident.
He said: “Fire brigade is being held back here in #Loosdrecht and cannot extinguish the fire. Next to the building entrance now a large tree is on fire. It is a major chaos.”
Video from the scene later showed firefighters gaining access to the building and the fire brought under control.
Far-right MP Gidi Markuszower, spoke at a demonstration at the site last week in which he said that refugees should “go back to their own country”.
Local mayor Mark Verheijen accused violent demonstrators of “undermining our free society”, claiming that many of those present were not local residents.
Elsewhere, unrest erupted on the same evening near Den Bosch, as protesters opposed to a proposed accommodation site for young refugees briefly brought traffic on the A59 to a halt.
Local broadcaster Omroep Brabant reported that around 100 people gathered near the Waalwijk exit, some holding banners and burning torches, before police moved in.
The planned site, being developed by the COA refugee settlement agency, would house 50 unaccompanied teenage refugees in a small-scale facility on an industrial estate near the motorway.
Two people were arrested during the demonstration.
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