Partygoers in Arnhem narrowly escape deadly outcome

At an illegal New Year’s Eve party in a bunker on the outskirts of Arnhem (Gelderland), people could have died if the police hadn’t intervened in time. This is what the Mayor of Arnhem Ahmed Marcouch told Omroep Gelderland in an interview on Friday. The fire brigade warned the Mayor that carbon monoxide was present at the party location.

“It was a life-threatening situation,” concludes Marcouch. “The police intervened in time. Otherwise, there would have been deaths among the partygoers.”

Seventy people were partying in a bunker on the Koningsweg. “People from the Netherlands, but also Belgium and France,” said Mayor Marcouch.

Four police officers were injured on Friday morning when they tried to end the party, as they were attacked with stones. Two of them had to go to the hospital for treatment. Marcouch confirmed that “the agents are doing reasonably well. The impact is great. For the agents themselves, but also for the families.”

According to Marcouch, the bunker was closed. The premise usually serves as a storage place.