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| A shop damaged by fireworks in the Weinstrasse in Berlin, Germany, January 1, 2025 | Photo: AFP |
Five people have been killed in New Year's Eve fireworks accidents in Germany. Many have been injured. 390 people have been arrested in various incidents in the capital Berlin. Police and fire service personnel have been attacked.
A man died on the outskirts of the town of Gesseck in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The name of the 24-year-old man was not immediately known. A 45-year-old man died in Oschatz, east of Leipzig. A 20-year-old man died in the city of Hamburg when his homemade fireworks exploded. A man died in an accident in the northern Oberhavel district of the state of Brandenburg. A 50-year-old man died in Hertha, near the city of Chemnitz.
The Frankfurter Rundschau, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Der Spiegel newspapers reported this information, citing the police.
New Year's Eve in Germany was relatively peaceful, but violence broke out in various German cities from the evening until late into the night as New Year's celebrations raged.
Police said 390 people had been arrested in Berlin, with many more in other cities. According to initial estimates from the Berlin city administration, 30 police officers were injured, one of them seriously. The injured police officer had a flaming firework thrown at him. He underwent surgery on his leg that night. Firecrackers were also thrown at police and fire services, as well as rescue workers.
In the city of Leipzig, about 50 rioters attacked police with fireworks and bottles. Officials in the city of Kiel said 70 to 80 people received emergency medical treatment.
Two police officers were also injured in a fireworks display in the city of Cologne, where fireworks were also thrown at police and fire service personnel.
MDR news agency reported that a police car was set on fire in the city of Weimar. Fireworks were thrown at fire and rescue service workers in the cities of Gelsenkirchen and Dresden. Police have taken 12 people into custody on charges of various crimes in Bochum, Herne, and Witten.
A group of young men threw fireworks at a sleeping homeless man at the main railway station in the city of Bonn. The attackers filmed the attack on their mobile phones, police said. The injured homeless man is receiving treatment in hospital.
Hundreds of people attacked police in Munich. A police spokesman said around 300 left-wingers clashed with police on the Wittelsbacher Bridge.