New Year’s Eve in Germany: A stormy turn of the year

Germany welcomed the New Year with colorful fireworks and parties – even if the weather wasn’t good at times. However, there were also deaths, injuries and attacks on emergency services.

All over Germany the New Year was celebrated with colorful fireworks and exuberant parties – but overshadowed by several incidents with fireworks and firecrackers. At least five people died and many more were injured.

There were attacks on emergency services again. According to an initial police report, no major incidents were reported.

Attacks on emergency services

For the most part the celebrations remained peaceful, but not everywhere. In Berlin alone, the police said they arrested 330 people. According to the first preliminary assessment from early in the morning, 13 police officers were injured, one of them seriously. He was allegedly hit by an illegal firecracker and had to have an operation on his leg that night. Police and fire departments as well as rescue workers were shot at.

There were also incidents elsewhere: In Leipzig, around 50 people attacked police forces with fireworks and bottles. According to the police there, two officers were injured by firecrackers in Cologne. Fireworks were fired at police and fire departments. Something similar happened in Hamburg. There had already been such attacks on the previous New Year’s Eve.

Deaths and injuries from fireworks

For police and fire departments, the turn of the year also means that they are called to emergencies and fires much more often than usual. On the outskirts of the town of Geseke in North Rhine-Westphalia, a 24-year-old died when a firecracker exploded.

A 20-year-old in Hamburg also died in an explosion; in his case it was a self-made firecracker. Two people were fatally injured in Saxony. Another person was fatally injured during the night in the north of Brandenburg, and another was in mortal danger.

In Rostock, a ten-year-old boy was seriously injured when a firecracker exploded right in front of his face. It is still unclear who threw the firecracker in the direction of the child, the police reported. In Güstrow in the Rostock district, a 50-year-old man had to be resuscitated. According to police, he suffered serious facial injuries after throwing a firecracker into a pipe, which then exploded inside.

The fire brigade was deployed in several cities and communities to put out fires. Homes, garages, sheds, cars and dumpsters were on fire.

Gusty winds led to cancellations

In some places, the turn of the year was quieter than planned due to the weather. In the north, the start of the new year was stormy for many. The celebrations on the beach promenade on Sylt were therefore canceled. An official warning of squalls was in effect for half of Germany on New Year’s Eve – from Saxony via Thuringia to North Rhine-Westphalia all the way up to the North and Baltic Sea coasts.

An official warning of squalls also applies to New Year’s Day for half of Germany – from Saxony via Thuringia to North Rhine-Westphalia up to the North and Baltic Sea coasts.