The more than summery weather led to last minute hotel reservations. And fights in Blankenberge.
The heat of this Saturday has, as expected, attracted many tourists to the coast. The barometer changed to orange, for “high attendance”, in several seaside resorts, while a general fight broke out on a beach in Blankenberge.
The more summery weather resulted in last-minute hotel bookings, Westtoer notes. Both the owners of a second residence and day tourists sought a little freshness on the beaches of the Coast on Saturday. They were advised to favor the less frequented beaches, outside the centers.
In the course of the afternoon, the affluence barometer, which measures the occupancy rate of coastal municipalities, rose to “very busy” in several places. It was thus orange at Le Coq, where the two main beaches were 90% occupied, as well as at Wenduine. This storm code has also been decreed in Knokke and for the most popular areas in De Panne.
In addition, a general fight involving dozens of people, umbrellas and other projectiles broke out in Blankenberge.
According to an employee of a beach bar, it all started around high tide, as everyone started to move. “He was asked to leave the beach or to turn the music down, and aggressive reactions followed,” he told Belga. “In three seconds, a group fight broke out, with cries of ‘fuck the police’. The police tried to keep them away from other people on the beach because there were many of them. ”
Local police received assistance from several other areas.
Bourgmestre Daphné Dumery (N-VA) regrets the events but is determined to tackle the problem. “That can not continue. We do everything to maintain security in our seaside resort, and now that … ”, she reacted on social networks. A meeting of the security cell took place at 7:00 p.m.
The Bruges section of the West Flanders Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that a number of people had been subject to administrative or judicial arrests. The investigation should make it possible to identify the troublemakers.
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