Large Fireworks Explosion Causes Fatal Head Injuries
Two Deaths Last Year... Similar Accidents Continue
At least five people died while playing with fireworks to celebrate the New Year 2025 across Germany, including in Saxony and Hamburg.
On the 1st (local time), foreign media such as ARD reported that a 45-year-old man in Oschatz, Saxony, died in hospital after suffering severe head injuries from fireworks. It is known that the man was injured while setting off a large professional-grade firework containing a propellant and battery. One person each also died in fireworks accidents in Hamburg, Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Kremmen in Brandenburg, and Hartha in Saxony. A man in his 20s in Hamburg lost his life while using homemade fireworks.
There were also numerous cases of people being injured after deliberately throwing fireworks into crowds or due to accidental explosions. In Hanover, part of a 14-year-old boy’s right hand was amputated, and a 10-year-old child in Rostock suffered severe facial injuries. The UKB, a trauma hospital in Berlin, reported treating eight emergency patients with serious hand injuries by 1 a.m. that day.
In Germany, every year, people celebrating the New Year’s Day with fireworks compete to set off fireworks with strong explosive power and loud bangs, resulting in continuous casualties. Authorities have restricted fireworks with high hazard ratings and designated fireworks-free zones. However, casualties, fires, and attacks on police officers and paramedics still occurred in many places during the New Year. In Berlin alone, 13 police officers were injured, with one undergoing leg surgery. Berlin police announced that they arrested 330 people on charges including violations of the Explosives Act and Weapons Act.
Meanwhile, last year in Germany, two people died in fireworks accidents while celebrating the New Year. Around 8:55 p.m. on December 31 last year, near Cham in southeastern Germany, an 18-year-old youth was severely injured in the head and died on the spot when a firework exploded as he lit it inside a synthetic resin tube. On the same day, in Koblenz in southwestern Germany, another 18-year-old youth died instantly when a firework exploded as he lit it.
Also, in the Netherlands, a 21-year-old youth was burned on his leg and other parts when fireworks exploded while he was transporting 75 kg of fireworks bought in Germany in the trunk of a car with a friend. At the time, Dutch media reported that the explosion occurred because he threw a cigarette butt out the window, which the wind blew toward the trunk, igniting the fireworks. The video of this accident was also posted on social media, showing countless fireworks shooting into the air from the burning car before the car eventually exploded.
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