Berlin: Five people were killed and a police officer was seriously injured across Germany when powerful fireworks were set off to celebrate the traditional German New Year.
Germans celebrate New Year’s Eve with particularly intense use of fireworks, with the most powerful devices outlawed each year due to the pollution and noise they cause, along with more injuries. It gives rise to frequent debates about
Thirty law enforcement officers were injured, including one seriously injured by illegally manufactured fireworks, police spokesman Florian Nath said. Around 400 people were detained overnight in the capital Berlin, police said, adding that unlike in previous years, “there were no major violence or incidents”.
A 24-year-old man died after a pyrotechnic rocket detonated near Paderborn in the northwestern region of North Rhine-Westphalia, according to local police, who believe the victim made the device himself.