Chaos and grief: Fatal firecracking accident overshadow New Year's Eve in Hamburg

In Hamburg, numerous people celebrated the turn of the year with fireworks. Several tens of thousands of people gathered on the Landungsbrücken. The police and fire brigade were deployed with a strong forces and reported a "comparatively quiet night" with a total of 1,079 missions, which is a relaxation compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, there were some incidents, including the fact that nine police officers and a fire officer were slightly injured.

Sad high point of the celebrations was the fatal accident of a 20-year-old in Hamburg-Ochsenwerder, who was killed by not approved pyrotechnics. In the further course there was also a life-threatening incident on the Reeperbahn, where a 39-year-old was injured in a dispute. The associated suspect, a 24-year-old, was arrested at the scene. Up to 7,500 people stayed on the Landungsbrücken before the crowds shifted to the Reeperbahn after midnight, where up to 30,000 people were counted.

celebration and security measures

The federal police were forced to clear the pedestrian bridge at Landungsbrücken station due to the large crowds. Despite an existing weapon and firecracker ban, most of the celebrations adhered to the regulations; The police checked various groups of visitors and pointed out the ban on pyrotechnics with loudspeaker announcements. A total of 1,365 missions were recorded in the fire brigade, including smaller fires and two major operations in Billstedt and Poppenbüttel.

The celebrations at the turn of the year were not only shaped by some riots and accidents in Hamburg. There were a total of five deaths through fireworks. The weather conditions also played a role because storm warnings led to numerous cancellations of public fireworks and New Year's Baden. In other northern German federal states there were also serious injuries and attacks on emergency services, such as ndr.de reported.

The Hamburg City Cleaning had to struggle after the celebrations with an emergence of 19 tons of garbage, about five tons more than in the previous year. These events again throw a shadow on the otherwise happy time of the turn of the year and lead to discussion about the security measures and how to deal with pyrotechnics during the celebrations.