During a party in their hotel rooms, the young men are said to have thrown burning cigarette butts and alcohol onto the roof of a restaurant – it was made of reeds.

According to a report by the “Mallorca Zeitung”, eight of the thirteen German vacationers on Mallorca suspected of arson must remain in custody.

That was ordered by an investigating judge late Thursday evening after he had questioned the Germans in one-to-one conversations throughout the day. The judge apparently gave little credence to the protestations of the vacationers that they had not set the fire. There was initially no official announcement.

In the fire near the Ballermann, two restaurants and an apartment were damaged on May 20th. Two people suffered minor injuries. Since then, the 13 young Germans have been in custody.

Four of the suspects are to be released on bail of 12,000 euros each, the newspaper wrote. A fifth will be released without bail. However, the judge accepted joint and several liability of EUR 500,000 for any damage incurred against all 13 suspects. This liability can take effect if all 13 are convicted as accomplices.

The Germans, who according to the media are almost all between 24 and 29 years old, are accused of throwing burning cigarette butts onto the roof terrace of a restaurant at a party on two balconies of their hotel rooms and of having poured alcohol on them. The reed roof caught fire and damaged the inn and the apartment. Two people, a man and a girl, were slightly injured.

The Germans were arrested immediately after the fire. Neighbors said they saw everything clearly. “The tourists watched the whole thing from their balcony. They started filming the fire with their cell phones, roaring and laughing,” a man was quoted as saying by the Mallorca newspaper.

Another told the newspaper: “They celebrated for hours in rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor of the hotel. The music was turned up, they spilled beer from one balcony to the other and also onto the street.” They also threw down cigarettes. “Quickly the entire roof was on fire,” it said. It was “like a bomb”.