It started out as an intimate meeting of former dwellers, twenty crates of beer, sixteen beer tables, tranquility - until shortly after 10pm. Then more guests arrived, probably alerted via a grapevine snowball system, some bringing their own beer, most already drunk.
The two security guards and the students responsible for the party tried to de-escalate the situation but had to call in the police. By the time they arrived, the first bungalow was in flames. The policemen were able to extinguish the fire, but another one started, reinforcements were called in. 2000 guests were evacuated by the 150 officers, a helicopter lit the scene with its floodlight.
QUOTE
Die Organisatoren der Feier vom „Verein Studenten im Olympiadorf“ versuchen anfangs noch mit zwei Sicherheitsleuten, die Situation in den Griff zu bekommen. „Wir haben auf die Leute eingeredet, dass sie von den Dächern runterkommen sollen“, sagt Vesselina Marinova, eine der Vorsitzenden. „Aber das hat alles nichts genützt.“ Als einige Randalierer Matratzen in Brand setzen und erste Flammen aus den Bungalows schlagen, ist die Polizei bereits eingetroffen.
No one attacked the police and firefighters although 180 “aggressive and uncooperative“ persons were ID-ed. Six people were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in fistfights. By 3am order had been restored, the scene of the conflagration was fenced in on Sunday, cleaners began their daunting task.
Some of the bungalows still in use were damaged as well. “Those guys were no students�, says one of the organizers. “It was a mob.� The students themselves are too fond of their village to destroy it. “Maybe Destruction Party was the wrong motto�, he adds.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 6 August 2007, pictures
