Munich – Friends and relatives of the six teenagers who were found dead in an allotment shed in the German town of Arnstein were due to gather at a memorial service on Monday evening, as residents remain in the dark over the cause of the tragedy.
Investigators have ordered autopsies to establish the cause of the deaths. They said there was no indication of a violent crime.
“The circumstances are still unclear,” police spokesman Bjoern Schmitt said.
The men and women of the group were between the ages of 18 and 19 and had met up the previous evening apparently for a party in the shed on the remote plot of land.
A crucifix hangs in front of the entrance to a church in the town of Arnstein, in southern Germany, on Monday. Friends and relatives of the six teenagers who were found dead in an allotment shed in the town were due to gather at a memorial service on Monday evening, as residents remain in the dark over the cause of the tragedy. (Photo: Bastian Benrath/dpa)
The bodies were found on Sunday after the owner of the plot, whose son and daughter were among the dead, went to check on the group. He had become worried after not hearing from them by morning.
Schmitt refused to speculate as to whether a wood-fired heater that had been burning that night was linked to the deaths.
A Catholic service is to be held in the Bavarian town for those who knew the six youngsters. Members of the press will not be admitted at the event.
“No one can place themselves in that situation,” a woman in a local cafe told dpa, adding that many know the victims in the tight-knit town.
“It is a great misfortune to lose so many young people,” Deputy Mayor Franz-Josef Sauer said.
-dpa
