Two firecracker deaths, attacks on emergency services and more than 300 arrests in Berlin

New Year's Eve 23/24 - Two firecracker deaths, attacks on emergency services and more than 300 arrests in Berlin

People all over Germany welcomed in the New Year with lots of fireworks. In Berlin, tens of thousands celebrated at the big New Year's Eve party at the Brandenburg Gate, where fireworks were set off for the first time in several years. After last year's riots, the celebrations in the capital took place under tighter security measures. Although there were no major riots, the police again reported attacks on officers and rescue workers.

Berlin: 230 arrests, 15 police officers injured

In Berlin , the police were deployed in large numbers. The fire department had also increased the number of emergency services after the riots at the turn of the year last year. According to the police, more than 230 arrests had been made in Berlin by around 2 am. In addition, 15 officers were injured, the police announced via the online service X, formerly Twitter. At numerous locations throughout the city, emergency and rescue services were attacked with pyrotechnics, alarm guns and bottles. According to the police, the situation calmed down again at around 3 am.

At the Neptune Fountain not far from Alexanderplatz, 500 people threw pyrotechnics at each other before midnight. When police officers intervened, they were reportedly shot at with fireworks by a group of 200 people. According to the Berlin police, several people were arrested.

Police car shot at with a bullet bomb

In Gropiusstadt in the Neukölln district, police reported that a parked police car was shot at with a bullet bomb and damaged so badly that it had to be taken out of action. Nine arrests were also made in Neukölln after people tried to make Molotov cocktails out of glass bottles, scraps of cloth and petrol.

Seit 0 Uhr schon 500 Einsätze bei der @Berliner_Fw , darunter viele Kleinbrände.
So wie hier am #Schöneberger_Ufer in #Tiergarten, wo die #Freiwillige_Feuerwehr aus Prenzlauer Berg aktuell einen Pkw löscht. pic.twitter.com/PTv9V6gqxX

— Berliner Feuerwehr (@Berliner_Fw) January 1, 2024

Numerous people with firecracker injuries were treated at the Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin (UKB). In the meantime, 22 patients with serious eye injuries, burns and blast injuries to the hands and face have been treated, the hospital announced shortly after 4 a.m. on the online platform X. The UKB spoke of "dramatic amputation injuries" in some cases.

Relatively quiet turn of the year

In other German cities, the turn of the year was relatively calm compared to last year. In Stuttgart, the police gave a positive initial assessment of their operations around Schlossplatz. By 4 a.m., the officers had reportedly recorded around 30 charges, most of which were violations of the Explosives Act. According to the police, there were no "serious incidents".

The police made similar statements in cities such as Mainz and Bochum. According to the police in Koblenz, one officer was hit by pyrotechnics but remained unharmed. However, there was a tragic accident in the Rübenach district of Koblenz: an 18-year-old was fatally injured when a firecracker was set off and died despite attempts at resuscitation.

In Cologne, security measures around the cathedral were stepped up once again for New Year's Eve. According to the head of the Cologne police traffic directorate, Frank Wißbaum, around 1000 police officers were deployed to secure the area and protect the public. The Cologne police had previously announced that they had taken three more terror suspects into custody in connection with possible plans to attack the cathedral.

Normal New Year's Eve in Hamburg

On Hamburg's Reeperbahn , the police estimated the number of revelers at up to 45,000, many of whom crowded into the Grosse Freiheit area after midnight. The police temporarily closed off access to the side street of the Reeperbahn.

According to police reports from the morning, 10,000 people watched the New Year's Eve fireworksat the Landungsbrücken overlooking the harbor. Around the Inner Alster, where fireworks were not permitted, officials counted 5,000 revelers.

22-year-old dies from bullet bomb

In Boxberg in eastern Saxony, a 22-year-old man was killed when a banned ball bomb was detonated. The young man suffered such serious injuries in the explosion that he died at the scene of the accident despite rescue attempts, according to a spokesman for the Görlitz police department. A companion of the same age suffered minor injuries. The ball bomb had been bought abroad and was not licensed in Germany.