New Year’s fireworks accidents kill five in Germany

Germans celebrate New Year’s Eve with particularly 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.

Thirty law enforcement officers were injured, including one seriously injured by an illegally manufactured firework, police spokesman Florian Nath said.

About 400 people were detained overnight in the capital Berlin, police said, adding that unlike previous years, “there was no violence or major incidents.”

A 24-year-old man died after detonating a pyrotechnic rocket near Paderborn in the northwestern region of North Rhine-Westphalia, according to local police, who believe the victim 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.

Near Hamburg in the north, a 20-year-old young man died 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.

© 2025 AFP