This case was caused by the German drunken tourists, which is still an issue for Mallorca.
Mallorca (Palma) is viewed as a drunken vacation, but the trip for the German bowling club ended faster than expected, after a few drinks in the “Ballermann” neighbourhood from the famous Playa de Palma. All 13 members of the bowling club were arrested and are detained on charges of arson and endangering human life.
They risk ten to twenty years in prison if the accusations are confirmed. The bowling brothers are suspected of starting a large fire while intoxicated, inflicting damage to a tavern, a brothel, a hotel, and an apartment. The charges are serious and make waves.
Francina Armengol, the regional head of government in Mallorca, sees the case as proof that the protracted battle against alcohol excesses in the Playa de Palma party district has yet to be won. Tourists who consume alcoholic beverages are “not welcome” in Mallorca. Anyone who misbehaves will face harsh punishment. “We don’t want this type of tourist anymore.”
Some of the tourists belong to the fire department
The incident was also heard in the community of Münster, among friends and relatives of the tourists. According to early information from the Münster Municipal Administration, six of the 13 accused arsonists are members of the volunteer fire department. They are not known as bullies in their neighborhoods of Albachten and Roxel, but “respectable fellows, not socially conspicuous”.
Meanwhile, Münster officials have stepped in: “The city is in communication with the Federal Republic of Germany consulate in Palma,” according to a municipal statement. “At the time, however, the city has no accurate information on the cause of the fire, nor about the role of the bowling club or the volunteer fire department.”
“The legal and consular help of those impacted appears to be ensured,” says Martin Fallbrock of the Münster professional fire brigade. “First, we have to wait for the investigations to take place” advises the head of public order in Münster, Wolfgang Heuer.
Last Friday, the bowlers were handcuffed and taken to jail. On suspicion of collaborative arson, the investigating judge arrested the whole bowling team.
They took a photo in Arenal
After their arrival in Mallorca, everything seemed fine, as soon as they arrived one of them posted a group photo on social media. In the photo, the bowling brothers were in a good mood on the beach, they smile as they pose on the beach promenade in Palma’s tourist hotspot Arenal, in front of a blue sky, palm palms and the sea.
All of them are wearing their club’s blue T-shirt, with the club’s name above the heart “KC – Stramm am Tisch” while holding a half-liter can of beer. This is already a tradition starting the vacation at a bowling club and it attracts hundreds of tourists every year.
According to police investigations, the incident may have gone out of hand just a few hours later: the bowling brothers are currently in their hotel rooms in Arenal. Multiple witnesses reported they observed the bowling brothers drinking on their balconies and the cigarette buts dropped onto a bar terrace’s lower thatched roof. Security camera footage also implicates the men.
However, the thatched roof is engulfed in flames and the fire subsequently severely destroyed the bar’s exterior area, a sex club downstairs, the hotel facade and a private apartment. Two persons were slightly harmed. Property damage is anticipated to be at least 150,000 euros, according to investigators.
We wrote a lot of articles about drunk tourists on the Balearic Islands
Over the years, we covered a lot of news related to drunk tourists on the Balearic Islands and Mallorca. Read more in this topic by clicking on the links below:
Compared to other Spanish regions, Mallorca and the neighbouring islands have much more suitors. According to Balearic University, there are about 2,500 prostitutes at the moment, who sell their services to 70,000 clients: Over 70,000 men pay for sex on the Mallorca and the neighboring islands
Drunk Swedish tourists set fire to a sexclub in Palma de Mallorca. Acccording to the sources, they did this because were treated poorly in the club: Swedish tourists set fire to a sexclub in Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Human trafficking and illegal prostitution is a huge problem on the Balearic Islands. The EU funds the battle against them: Measures against human trafficking on the Balearic Islands
Drunk Swedish tourists got three years in prison because they broke into a brothel and stole various items from there: Swedish vandals sentenced to three years of imprisonment