1 of 3 | Riot police stand guard on a street during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Berlin, Germany, early Wednesday morning. Hundreds of revelers were arrested across the country and five people were killed in accidents during the raucous celebrations. Photo by Filip Singer/EPA-EFE
A largely peaceful New Year’s Eve turned chaotic as fireworks killed five in several incidents across Germany, where hundreds also were arrested for rioting in Berlin and other cities.
Two died in Saxony after suffering fireworks injuries, and a 24-year-old died in North Rhine-Westphalia when a firecracker exploded, DPA International reported. Advertisement
A 45-year-old in Oschatz and a 50-year-old suffered a fatal injury in Hartha, which is near Chemnitz, while both men handled fireworks in separate deadly incidents, according to Euronews.
A 20-year-old in Hamburg resident died while handling a homemade firecracker, and a 21-year-old suffered fatal injuries while celebrating north of Brandenburg.
In the nation’s capital of Berlin, police clashed with hundreds of rioters and arrested more than 400 people who fought with one another and attacked police officers and others, local police told reporters.
More than 30 police officers and one firefighter were injured during the Berlin riots.
Hundreds of additional police officers were deployed in Berlin to quell the riots there, and police in Hamburg and Leipzig were shot at with fireworks and pelted with bottles and other objects.
Rioters in Leipzig erected barricades and set objects on fire while about 50 rioters threw fireworks and bottles at police officers. Advertisement
In Munich between 200 and 300 people suspected of being affiliated with leftist groups attacked police officers while rioting. the Bavarian newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung reported.
Police officers in Kiel also were attacked between 70 and 80 rioters while the officers tried to protect a paramedic.
Teenagers in Bonn aimed a rocket at a sleeping homeless man and filmed the firework attack on a mobile phone, local police said.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser condemned the rioters and said they will be prosecuted “with the utmost severity.”
“The deployment of strong police forces from the state and federal government and early action are the right means against violent criminals and rioters,” she wrote in a social media post. “However, the many arrests and the renewed attacks on emergency services also show that this tough action was necessary.”
Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said a partial fireworks ban will be imposed due to their use during the night’s rioting and during prior New Year’s events where emergency services personnel were targeted with fireworks.
Germany only allows fireworks to be used for a few hours during special events, but officials for police and firefighter unions have sought a total ban on private use of fireworks. Advertisement
