Ukrainian refugee dies horrifically inside a burning Mercedes after a fight in a hotel garage
In the early hours of Wednesday, a 21-year-old Ukrainian man who had fled to Vienna to escape the war was found dead inside a burning Mercedes. Fire crews discovered the body after extinguishing the fire that had broken out beneath a railway line in the Donaustadt area.
Quickly, investigators discovered that the victim, referred to as 'Arabi', had been attacked before the fire broke out. According to the police, he was struck on the head with a solid object and then placed in the back seat of the car. The rapid spread of the flames indicates the use of an accelerant, rendering him unable to escape.
With the emergence of new information, the course of the investigation has changed. A violent altercation had previously erupted in the underground garage of the luxury SO/ Vienna hotel — formerly known as Sofitel — overlooking Schwedenplatz. Later, a large pool of blood was found on the ground, and the police confirmed these details to the newspaper Heute.
One of the witnesses saw the fight next to a black Mercedes car, so he quickly informed the hotel staff who in turn called emergency services. The police believe that this fight is directly related to what happened later.
The victim's identity was identified through the car registration, and one of his acquaintances reported his disappearance that night. The young man's relatives live in Vienna and Ukraine, while he was officially registered as a resident in the city of Vienna.