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Five people died accidentally on New Year’s Eve in several regions of Germany while lighting powerful fireworks, police said in a provisional report on Wednesday.
Every New Year’s Eve, fireworks light up the sky. Large cities want to mark the transition to the new year with a fireworks show and many individuals also want to wow their New Year’s Eve guests by lighting fireworks at home. The practice is often prohibited because it can be dangerous.
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In Germany, five people lost their lives, fatally injured by uncontrolled homemade fireworks. Near Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the northwest of the country, a 24-year-old young man died when he detonated a pyrotechnic rocket, according to local police, who believe that the victim had made the bomb himself. ‘machine.
Serious head injuries
In Oschatz in Saxony (East), a 45-year-old man died of serious head injuries when he set fire to a “pyrotechnic bomb”. According to the police, it was a powerful category F4 firework, the acquisition of which requires special authorization.
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In the same region of Saxony, a 50-year-old man died in the town of Hartha while trying to detonate a pyrotechnic bomb in a pipe. The victim also suffered serious head injuries and died at the scene, according to a police spokesperson. Near Hamburg, in the north, a 20-year-old young man died while lighting a pyrotechnic device.
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Finally, in Kremen in the Brandenburg region, which surrounds Berlin, a fifth man died during the “ignition of pyrotechnic devices” with “inappropriate handling”, a police spokesperson told AFP local. In this region three other men were seriously injured in similar circumstances.
Enough to fuel the debate on the ban on the most powerful pyrotechnic devices in Germany, due each year to a high number of deaths and injuries, but also to the pollution and noise pollution they cause.
