Czech pub owner alleges attack by looters during flood

News server iDNES.cz reports that pub owner Ladislav Kratochvíl of the Czech town of Olšinky has told police in Ústí nad Labem that he was beaten up by thieves whom he startled in his business in the pre-dawn hours of last Monday. He has identified the intruders as Romani.

Police are not commenting on the case at this time, as they have just begun investigating and are unable to either confirm or refute his claims. Kratochvíl says he went to the pub to remove his property before the floodwaters hit. He planned to stand guard on higher ground to keep watch for looters.

In the early morning hours of last Monday, when the water in the Elbe river was already dangerously high, Kratochvíl decided to spend the rest of the night in the pub. Friends had agreed to come by early the next morning and help him carry his equipment to higher ground.

"At about 4:30 AM I went out to take a look at how rapidly the water was rising. I didn’t lock the door because I was waiting for my helpers. When I came back inside, I heard faint noises inside and I thought they were already there," the pub owner told news server iDNES.cz. 

The people inside, however, were definitely not there to help, according to Kratochvíl. "When I entered the corridor someone immediately punched me. They broke my nose, my hip has been crushed and something happened to my ribs," Kratochvíl said.

He claims everything happened very quickly. "It happened in the blink of an eye. I was surprised that they weren’t who I was expecting, and they didn’t expect to see me. Then one of them yelled ‘boys, let’s get out of here’ and they fled. I believe they were there to loot, no question," the pub owner told news server iDNES.cz. 

Kratochvíl said he did not manage to look the intruders over carefully:  "All I know is there were three inside and they were gypsies. One wore a brown tracksuit and the other wore a red and black one. They probably weren’t locals, but I don’t know how they got there. If they came by car the only way for them to get there would have been through Svádov because the road to Ústí was already closed by then."

The pub owner was taken by ambulance to hospital and released that afternoon after receiving treatment. "Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get everything I needed out of the pub, but luckily my friends removed a lot of stuff on their own and also drove my car to higher ground, otherwise it would have been much worse," he said.