THE MUNICH OKTOBERFEST grounds will remain temporarily closed today, German police said, hours after a fire and explosions rocked a building elsewhere in the city, leaving one person dead. 

The organisers of the beer festival said on their website that a “bomb threat” had been received.

A van is burnt out and full of extinguishing foam. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Police said explosive devices had been found in the residential building in northern Munich and that they were investigating any possible link to the Oktoberfest, held annually near the centre of the Bavarian capital on the Theresienwiese grounds.

“According to the current state of knowledge, the residential building was deliberately set on fire in the context of a family dispute,” Munich Police said in a statement on X.

Firefighters and fire engines can be seen on a street. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“The injured person found has since passed away. Another person is missing, from whom no danger is posed.”

The Bild newspaper reported that a man was suspected of having caused the explosion and fire in his parents’ house before killing himself, and that shots had been fired in the incident, but police did not confirm this.

The Oktoberfest said on its website: “Due to a bomb threat in connection with the explosion in northern Munich, Theresienwiese will remain closed until 5:00 pm for the time being.”

- With reporting from AFP