Doctors in one hospital compared the injuries to “war wounds” during a night of bedlam
New Year’s celebrations in Germany spiralled into disorder, with over 400 arrests made in Berlin alone as illegal fireworks were used as weapons — resulting in numerous injuries. This included a seven year old boy who required emergency surgery.
Across the country, five men lost their lives due to exploding fireworks as people brought in the New Year.
The capital city was thrown into chaos during New Year’s Eve festivities, leading to police cracking down on offenders and making mass arrests following sustained attacks involving banned fireworks.
The evening witnessed violent clashes in notorious trouble spots such as Neukölln, Kreuzberg, and Moabit, where groups hurled rockets and makeshift explosives at emergency services, highlighting ongoing problems in the city.
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In an attempt to control the turmoil, authorities deployed 4,300 police officers – three times the usual number – along with 1,600 firefighters. Despite these efforts, they were unable to prevent a worrying number of casualties.
Berlin police launched 670 criminal proceedings, mainly related to the reckless use of pyrotechnics, violent attacks, and deliberate arson, reported the Irish Mirror.
By the early hours of January 1, some 37 officers had been injured, with one suffering a severe leg injury from a Kugelbombe, or spherical explosive, necessitating surgical intervention. One shocking video appeared to show a bus engulfed in flames.
A firefighter was also injured whilst on duty, with several colleagues suffering “blast traumas” from explosions at close quarters. The number of civilian casualties rose sharply, placing immense pressure on local accident and emergency units.
Berlin’s Trauma Hospital (UKB) admitted 42 individuals with serious firework-related injuries, including catastrophic damage to hands, faces and eyes, reports the Express.
Charité hospital dealt with an overwhelming 49 comparable cases in a 24-hour period, with medical staff likening the injuries to “war wounds” inflicted by illegal pyrotechnics. Numerous individuals lost fingers or sections of their hands in blasts throughout the capital, with UKB recording at least eight such cases by 1am.
Heartbreakingly, children were also victims of the chaos. A ball bomb firework explosion in Tegel left eight people wounded, including a seven year old boy who needed urgent surgery for life-threatening injuries, along with two other youngsters who suffered minor harm.
In Schöneberg, another catastrophic blast injured five people and caused enough structural damage to necessitate the evacuation of residents from 36 flats. The chaos wasn’t confined to Berlin, with reports from across the country highlighting the dangers of unregulated fireworks.
In Brandenburg, a 21 year old man sadly lost his life from injuries sustained by a device he wasn’t authorised to handle. Among the severe non-fatal incidents, a 23 year old man near Rostock tragically lost his left hand when a “firecracker” exploded in his grasp, necessitating immediate medical attention.
Similar accidents occurred elsewhere; a 14 year old lad near Rostock also had his left hand amputated by a detonating firecracker, while a 16 year old girl in Leipzig suffered the loss of her little finger and parts of her ring finger due to mishandling an illegal device. In Berlin alone, police confiscated over 220,000 prohibited fireworks, but the extent of the chaos proved challenging to control.
Authorities admitted that despite preventive measures such as weapon bans and pyrotechnic restrictions reducing certain risks, the night represented a “low point” marked by damaged infrastructure and shaken communities.
As inquiries persist, there are growing demands for tighter fireworks regulations, coupled with hospital warnings about the avoidable, “combat-like” trauma inflicted on youngsters.
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