Four people died around the country amid Germany’s firework-filled street parties on New Year’s Eve. Fireworks were also the presumed cause of a large warehouse blaze, while the public bombarded police in several cities.
Germany’s raucous New Year’s celebrations led to a typically busy night for emergency services overnight and into the early hours of Wednesday.
Police and fire services around the country reported at least four fatal injuries the following morning, seemingly connected to explosions.
Crowds of people in eastern Leipzig as fireworks go off during New Year’s Eve celebrations. January 1, 2025. Crowds of people in eastern Leipzig as fireworks go off during New Year’s Eve celebrations. January 1, 2025.
For an hour, or a bit more, at New Year’s, many German city streets turn into a barely regulated firework displayImage: Sebastian Willnow/dpa/picture alliance
In several cities, emergency services were pelted by pyrotechnics — a recurring trend in recent years. One Berlin officer was severely hurt and required surgery.
The capital’s university hospital said it was treating eight people with severe hand injuries and “the night is still young” soon after midnight. It later updated the figure to 15.
More than 300 arrests in Berlin
Berlin police issued an update in the early hours of Wednesday, praising the implementation of new no-fireworks zones in the city center — but still reporting widespread issues outside those areas
“We have had to carry out around 320 arrests, in several cases both rescue workers and police came under fire [from pyrotechnics],” Berlin police spokesman Florian Nath said in a video posted online. Berlin police were escorting fire crews in the city for their own safety, a move police
