Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat catches fire, police say

Authorities have arrested a suspect as firemen try to put out the fire in Bavaria, near the Austrian border.

A fire broke out on Friday evening at the Kehlsteinhaus in Bavaria, more commonly known as the Eagle's Nest and used as a retreat by Adolf Hitler and Nazi officials.

The Kehlsteinhaus was engulfed in flames, a police statement read, adding that a suspect has been arrested and the incident was being criminally investigated.

What do we know so far about the Kehlsteinhaus fire?

A fire alarm went off at the Kehlsteinhaus on the Obersalzberg in Berchtesgaden at around 9:15 p.m. local time (1915 GMT) on Friday, the police said in a statement.

"The fire brigades, who were alerted immediately, could already see flames clearly visible at the Kehlsteinhaus as they approached," the police statement read.

Some 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the site. Firefighters struggled to reach the Kehlsteinhaus, which sits at some 1,834 meters (6,017 feet) above sea level, with their engines.

Police added that the building and its immediate vicinity could only be entered while wearing respiratory protective equipment (RPE).

Police said they were unaware of any injuries as of yet.

The site once housed Hitler's heavily fortified country residence, where he is believed to have partially written his book "Mein Kampf." It was built in 1938 as a guest house for Nazi officials.

It remains a symbol of the Nazi regime and is among only a few monuments of the Hitler era that survived the World War II bombing unscathed. Today, it is classified as a historical monument and is home to a popular restaurant.

#DailyDrone: The Eagle's Nest

Edited by: Rana Taha

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