Five people died accidentally on New Year's Eve in Germany by lighting powerful fireworks, and around 400 people were arrested in the capital, according to the latest report from the authorities on Wednesday January 1.
In total, 30 law enforcement officers were injured, including one seriously, who required surgery. The latter was hit by an illegally manufactured firework, according to a spokesperson, Florian Nath. Several police officers and rescuers were targeted by pyrotechnic devices during their interventions on New Year's Eve, he said, however, overall, and unlike certain years in Berlin, “there was no violence or major incidents”, he pointed out.
After massive excesses during the change of year 2022/2023, the authorities implemented a reinforced system last year for New Year's Eve, which was applied again this year.
Concerning accidental deaths, almost Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphaliain the northwest of the country, a 24-year-old young man died by detonating a pyrotechnic rocket, according to local police, who believe that the victim had made the device himself.
A Oschatz en Saxe (est)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.
In the same region of Saxony, a 50-year-old man died in the locality of Hartha by 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.
Next to Hambourgin the north, a 20-year-old young man died while lighting a pyrotechnic device.
Finally, at Kremen in the Brandenburg regionwhich surrounds Berlin, a fifth man died during the “ignition of pyrotechnic devices” with “inappropriate handling”, a spokesperson for the local police told AFP. In this region three other men were seriously injured in similar circumstances.
The Germans traditionally celebrate the New Year with a particularly intense use of fireworks, which regularly fuels a debate on the banning of the most powerful pyrotechnic devices, due to a high number of deaths and injuries each year, but also the pollution and noise pollution they cause.
Furthermore, New Year's Eve was marked in Berlin by a major pipe break, which deprived tens of thousands of residents of water for several hours in various districts of the capital, according to local authorities.
