Bored duo

Eggersdorf culture hall: arson confirmed

Almost 60 firefighters and the police were at the scene.(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Eggersdorf)

What the police had suspected from the outset has been confirmed: Arson was behind the smoke development on the canopy of the Kulturhalle Eggersdorf at the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, clouds of smoke billowed out of the canopy of the hall while a tournament with around 100 participants was being held in the neighboring sports hall. There was a great deal of excitement, but in the end the incident turned out to be harmless: The fire department was able to quickly extinguish the last pockets of embers and no one was injured.

Two young people identified
The police initially assumed that the fire had been caused by arson, but on Monday the matter was clarified: after "extensive investigations", two young people aged twelve and 13 were found, who were questioned together with their parents or guardians.

Traces of the fire in the hall canopy(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Eggersdorf)

They stated that they had repeatedly used fire and spray paint cans out of boredom - including on Saturday. However, they had assumed that the fire they had caused had already been extinguished when they left the location. The duo will be reported to the public prosecutor's office in Graz.