They are alleged to have taken the woman from Vienna's central Schwedenplatz and then assaulted her in an apartment where two of the suspects lived, between the hours of 2am and 6am.

The men - five of whom were arrested in Vienna, three in Styria and one in Lower Austria - have all denied the accusations and police added they were unable to say how many of the men had participated in the alleged attack, and how many were possible accessories in the case.

The woman, who had been drinking and suspects she was drugged, had no recollection of being taken to the apartment, the police added.

“The presumed perpetrators are likely to have taken advantage of the female victim's high level of inebriation,” they said in a statement.

On news websites in Austria some readers demanded the men be “immediately deported” if they are convicted of the rape.