Fatal accident on New Year's Eve in Rhineland-Palatinate

Turn of the year - Fatal accident on New Year's Eve in Rhineland-Palatinate

A tragic accident overshadowed New Year's Eve in Rhineland-Palatinate. An 18-year-old died in Koblenz when a firework exploded. Attempted resuscitation was unsuccessful. According to the police, the accident happened when the firecracker was set off in the Rübenach district. The criminal investigation department is investigating, but no outside influence is suspected. Head of operations Björn Neureuter said on Monday night: "An incident like this is always tragic and cannot be put into words, especially for the relatives. However, it shows once again how dangerous the use of fireworks can be."

State Interior Minister Michael Ebling (SPD) said that his thoughts and condolences were with the young man's relatives. The tragic death overshadowed this year's New Year's Eve operations. It was thanks to the police, fire department and rescue services that the turn of the year in Rhineland-Palatinate was largely peaceful. "At the same time, we saw an increase in the number of cases in which the police had to intervene," explained Ebling.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, five police officers were slightly injured during acts of resistance in Koblenz. However, they were able to continue their duties. One police officer suffered blast trauma from a New Year's Eve rocket fired at him.

A particularly large number of people once again gathered at the Deutsches Eck, the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Due to the "careless handling" of fireworks, the police cleared this area half an hour before the New Year and only released it again at around midnight. The officers took one person into temporary custody.

In total, the emergency services in Rhineland-Palatinate recorded 105 criminal offenses and administrative offenses in connection with New Year's Eve celebrations - twice as many as in the previous year (2022: 52). 34 preliminary proceedings were initiated for bodily injury (2022: 24), 15 for damage to property (2022: 16) and 12 for insulting behavior (2022: 1). Disturbers were banned from 68 locations (2022: 34) and deprived of liberty 5 times (2022: 3).

In Trier, five police officers were slightly injured in resistance offenses. In Speyer, a freshly fired alarm gun containing 91 cartridges and 13 unmarked fireworks was found on a driver. The 27-year-old does not have a small firearms license - as does a 37-year-old man who was checked with his son after firing a shot. They had deposited the alarm firearm in a garbage can. Experts from the State Office of Criminal Investigation blew up two bags of fireworks, home-made preparations and PVC pipes as firing devices on the outskirts of Speyer. They had been classified as dangerous.

Several police headquarters in the state initially reported no major incidents on Monday morning. There were also initially no reports of attacks on emergency vehicles. "There's a lot going on, but nothing spectacular," was the statement in Mainz. Kaiserslautern also announced: "The situation is relatively relaxed, nothing major." The police stations spoke of the usual fires, disputes and assaults.

The police headquarters in Ludwigshafen reported "45 criminal offenses and 9 administrative offenses" in the Vorder- und Südpfalz region. "15 criminal charges were filed for assault, four for damage to property and four for insults," it said.

Officers found ten drivers to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. One officer was injured in two acts of resistance against the police. According to the Ludwigshafen police headquarters, 31 fires were caused by flying fireworks, for example on balconies, which had to be extinguished by the fire department. The total damage amounted to around 99,000 euros.

In Rhaunen (Birkenfeld district), a detached house caught fire for initially unknown reasons. One person was slightly injured by smoke inhalation. The damage is estimated at around 200,000 euros. In Framersheim (Alzey-Worms district), fireworks caused a fire in a semi-detached house. One person suffered injuries to the head and hands. A barn burned down in Züsch (Trier-Saarburg district). There, too, one person suffered minor injuries from smoke gas. The damage was estimated at 50,000 euros.

In Dickenschied in the Hunsrück region, a barn with around 40 cattle, bales of straw and fertilizer caught fire. Although the animals were saved, a large part of the stable building was destroyed. "It cannot be ruled out that the fire was caused by a New Year's Eve rocket," said the police in Simmern. The criminal investigation department is investigating.

"The police were also well prepared for New Year's Eve this year with their planning and deployed around 500 officers across the country," the Ministry of the Interior announced. The five police stations were supported by the riot police.

Statement from the Ministry of the Interior