Spectators at the boulevard Unter den Linden watch fireworks as they celebrate the New Year near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 1, 2022.Markus Schreiber/The Associated Press
Exploding fireworks killed two men on New Year’s Eve, one in Germany and the other in Austria, local media reported Saturday.
A 37-year-old man died in Hennef near Germany’s western city of Bonn. A 39-year-old was severely injured in the same incident and taken to the hospital.
In Austria, a 23-year-old man died southwest of Vienna and three other people were injured.
At a private New Year’s Eve party in Berlin, 12 people were injured when illegal fireworks exploded at night. Eleven of them were taken to hospitals for treatment, dpa reported. All were injured on their the legs, a spokeswoman for Berlin’s fire department said Saturday adding that the youngest injured was an 11-year-old boy.
Several other people were injured in other mishaps involving fireworks in the German cities of Leipzig and Hamburg, German news agency dpa reported.
The sale of fireworks for personal use was banned in Germany this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some Germans bought illegal fireworks or built their own, increasing the risk of accidents.