A 21-year-old young man, attending a night party in a hotel in Antwerp (northern Belgium) in violation of containment rules, was killed overnight from Saturday to Sunday while trying to escape the police , according to the prosecution.
The police, who had received several calls for noise pollution, intervened Sunday around 4 am.
The eight people present, including the victim, then tried to hide, reported the Antwerp prosecutor's office, which opened an investigation.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the 21-year-old man died after falling from the 4th floor, apparently trying to escape through the bedroom window, a spokesperson for the prosecution told AFP. .
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Quoted by RTL Info, the mayor of Antwerp says he is "shocked" by this "terrible event" and notes that since the implementation of restrictions linked to Covid-19 in the country, revelers tend more and more often to flee the police, even if it means sometimes taking all the risks.
And Bart De Wever added: "Yet it is in the general interest that the security services intervene and they are there to help us if necessary".
A similar accident the same night
Gatherings of more than four people outside the home are currently prohibited in Belgium as part of the measures to fight the pandemic.
Psychological support was offered to clients and staff of the hotel, located in the very center of Antwerp, as well as to the seven other party participants, shocked by the tragedy.
The latter were also heard by the police.
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In another part of the city, a woman injured her shoulder on Saturday, when she jumped out of a window to try to escape the police intervened during a party that brought together 16 people.