The breakout.
The news began as a whisper when several members of the Auror and Hit Wix teams were asked to assemble just before the gala’s end. Initially, the teams were told not to tell the general public. It went well for a time but rumors quickly spread from an unknown source.
There was a breakout from Azkaban. In the haste of reporting, things got jumbled. There were rumors that one of the max security cells was broken out of, whispers that the dementors had fled the establishment, rumors that Severus Snape had something to do with it, and several others claiming none of the information could be true.
Mixed information and no knowledge of what the actual facts were caused chaos to ensue, with the Ministry refusing to give further information out until the damage at Azkaban could properly be assessed.