Five people were killed across Germany and a police officer was seriously injured in accidents involving the powerful fireworks that Germans traditionally set off to celebrate the New Year, police said in a preliminary count.
Germans celebrate the new year with especially heavy use of fireworks, sparking a recurring debate about banning the most powerful devices, given the high number of injuries each year, as well as the pollution and noise they cause.
About 13 police officers were injured in this year’s accidents, one of them seriously, according to police spokesman Florian Nath.
Some 330 people were detained overnight in the capital Berlin, police said, adding that unlike previous years, “there was no violence or major incidents.”
Near Paderborn, in the northwestern region of North Rhine-Westphalia, a 24-year-old man died after detonating a pyrotechnic rocket, according to local police, who believe the victim had made the device himself.
In Oschatz, Saxony, a 45-year-old man died from serious head injuries after setting fire to a “pyrotechnic bomb”. According to the police, it was a powerful F4 category firework, the acquisition of which requires a special permit.
In the same eastern region of Saxony, a 50-year-old man died instantly from head injuries in the town of Hartha while trying to detonate a pyrotechnic bomb, a police spokesman said.
Near Hamburg in the north, a 20-year-old man died after lighting a pyrotechnic firework.
Finally, in Kremen, near Berlin, a fifth man died from “inappropriate handling” of fireworks, according to local police. Three other people in the region were seriously injured in similar circumstances.
