Thousands gather at illegal rave party on former military airbase

Thousands of people are attending an illegal rave in Limburg that began on Friday night and has continued into Sunday morning.

The party is taking place at a former military airbase in Brustem, Sint-Truiden, with about 5,000 people thought to be present. Neighbours have complained of loud music and nuisance from large numbers of vehicles on the site and police have issued official reports for drug law violations. The party has not been shut down, however, as the authorities say the priority is to monitor and secure the area and support residents.

“Based on the people and resources available, it is not possible to safely evacuate the vast area with such a large number of people present, often under the influence of narcotics,” said mayor Ingrid Kempeneers (CD&V). “There are precedents elsewhere where police have acted. The atmosphere among those present turned very quickly, endangering law enforcement and local residents and resulting in vandalism.” ​

Police having been carrying out alcohol and drug checks on traffic throughout the province since Saturday afternoon. According to VRT, the party is expected to continue into Monday.

A crisis cell including representatives of the federal and local police, Defence, the public prosecutor’s office, Limburg’s emergency planning and crisis management and the Sint-Truiden local government security cell met on Saturday evening to discuss additional measures.

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