Palestinian Ambassador killed by "suicide" safe
(Reuters) - The Palestinian ambassador to Prague was killed on Wednesday in an explosion that was triggered when he opened the door to a safe, Czech police said.
Jamal al-Jamal, 56, died in hospital after the incident at his home on the morning of New Year's Day.
"According to information from the investigation so far, this was definitely not a terrorist attack," national police president Martin Cervicek said on Czech Television.
Police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said an explosive - which may have been part of a security mechanism - went off after the safe was opened. "With the greatest probability, an explosive device placed on the door of the safe was triggered," she said.
The Palestinian foreign ministry, in a statement reported by the official WAFA news agency, said the blast happened minutes after Jamal opened a safe that had come from the embassy's old offices.
The mission is in the course of moving into new premises next to the residence in a suburb of the capital.
Zoulova told reporters: "The possibilities include inexpert handling of an explosive device or its spontaneous detonation ... The device was in a safe and was triggered after the door of the safe was opened."
Some safes can be fitted with small charges to destroy secret documents in the event of the lock being tampered with.
A spokesman for the embassy, Nabil el-Fahel, said he had no details on what it was that blew up. "We need to wait for the results of the police investigation," he said.
Jamal suffered lethal injuries to his head, chest and abdomen, surgeon Daniel Langer told Czech television.
No one else was injured in the explosion, police said, although a spokeswoman for Prague's emergency medical services said a 52-year-old woman was treated for smoke inhalation and shock. Jamal's family was at home at the time of the blast.
No sign of damage to the two-storey house was visible outside, but police cordoned off part of the street while bomb experts searched the premises.
Palestinian envoy killed by explosion at Prague home | Reuters
Palestinian envoy to Prague tried to open safe sealed for 20 years'
Prague: The death of Palestinian envoy to Czech Republic is said to have taken place by an accidental explosion when the diplomat tried to open a high-security safe in his home in Prague's Suchdol district, say police.
57-year old diplomat Jamal al Jamal died few hours after being taken to Prague Military Hospital after the explosion.
The explosion was triggered by “dangerous or unqualified manipulation” of the safe by the envoy himself, Prague Police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said according to reports.
"The explosive device was probably part of the safety mechanism of the safe," added the police.
According to the report by a leading international news agency, the blast hat Mr Jamal tried to open , hadn't been opened for 20 years, said officials.
"The safe was sitting neglected in one of the areas of the old embassy. No-one had touched it for 20 to 25 years," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told a news agency.
The explosion also harmed the 52-year old wife of the diplomat who suffered shock and inhaled smoke. She was then taken to Motol hospital.
`Palestinian envoy to Prague tried to open safe sealed for 20 years`