Five dead in Germany from new year’s fireworks accidents

BERLIN (AFP): Five people died across Germany and a police officer was seriously injured from accidents linked to the powerful fireworks Germans traditionally set off to celebrate the new year, police said in a preliminary count.

Germans celebrate the new year with a particularly intense usage of fireworks, which spurs a recurrent debate about outlawing the most powerful devices, given the high number of injuries each year, as well as the pollution and noise they cause.

Some 13 law enforcement officers were injured as a result of the accidents this year, including one seriously, police spokesman, Florian Nath, said.

Some 330 people were detained in the capital Berlin overnight, police said, adding that contrary to previous years, “there were no major violence or incidents.”

Near Paderborn in the northwest 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 in Saxony, 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 F4 category firework, which requires a special permit to purchase.

In the same eastern region of Saxony, a 50-year-old man died on the spot from head injuries in the town of Hartha when he tried to detonate a pyrotechnic pipe bomb, a police spokesperson said.

Near Hamburg in the north, a 20-year-old man died lighting a pyrotechnic firework.

Finally, in Kremen near Berlin, a fifth man died from an “inappropriate manipulation” of pyrotechnics, according to local police. Three other people in the region were seriously injured in similar circumstances.