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Illegal Fireworks Mar Germany’s New Year’s Eve With Two Deaths and Mass Arrests in Berlin

Authorities opened probes into illegal pyrotechnics supply after a night of assaults on responders.

Overview

  • Police in Bielefeld confirmed two 18-year-olds died in separate incidents involving self-built pyrotechnic devices.
  • The Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin reported 25 severe hand injuries with partial or complete amputations, including eight children.
  • Berlin police temporarily detained more than 300 to about 400 people over dangerous fireworks use, with 21 officers lightly injured by blasts and a water cannon used to douse burning e‑scooters.
  • Officials said about 220,000 illegal or improperly stored pyrotechnic items were seized, many in the F4 class reserved for professionals, as investigations continued into a suspected workshop linked to a Bochum apartment explosion.
  • Fire services tackled numerous blazes and disruptions across several states, including apartment and roof fires, while a Kugelbombe explosion in Berlin-Spandau left one person lightly injured and 4,300 police plus 1,600 firefighters were deployed in the capital.